After It All
by Sesshy'sGirlLOL01
Summary: What happens to the characters after the good ending of Detroit. Connor adjusting to living with Hank and new emotions with another Detective. Ralph adjusts. Simon and Markus work it out.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Just a series of drabbles set after the good ending of Detroit. This will be mostly Hank and Connor centric, but will contain some of the other characters. It will also have the character 'Adrian' from my other story 'Loss'. You don't really need to read Loss though. Anyway, I hope that you enjoy reading this!

After it all

Connor looked around Hank's home with a frown. He had been staying there for a few days since they had met at what was left of the chicken place. Things had been fragile between the humans and the androids since the president had ordered the ceasefire. Hank, though he wouldn't admit it, had seemed concerned for Connor's safety and had offered Connor a safe place, at least until things calmed down.

This led to Connor's current predicament. He felt as though he should do something for Hank. The man had done so much for him and meant so much to him. He felt as though he should do something for the Lieutenant. But what? Perhaps he could make Hank something to eat? He walked to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator. He scanned the contents and found himself frowning. Four beers, some butter and some slices of pizza that was growing mould. Closing the refrigerator, he searched the cupboards and was met with the sight of crackers, some out of date cereals and a few cans of baked beans.

"Hank is lacking in any forms of sustaining foods… and what food he does have, it's well out of date." He stepped back and looked around the house. His eyes scanning the dirty dishes, the old boxes and the dog food all over the floor. He smiled as he knew what to do.

X

Hank woke with a pounding headache. He had had a few drinks the night before to celebrate the fact that the androids were being released from the camps. He had felt real happiness at the liberations. The androids deserved peace, they deserved happiness. He was glad that he had been able to play a part, however small, in the revolution.

He let out groan as he climbed out of his bed. He needed greasy food. He needed greasy food now. He remembered the pizza in the fridge, a smile tugged at his lips before he grabbed his pounding head.

Hank walked through his home. His surprisingly keen eyes picking up that the house had been cleaned. "Connor." He shook his head with a smile. He then walked into the kitchen and felt his mouth hang open. It was _clean_ , it was cleaner that Hank had seen it in years. He felt gratitude as he looked at his sparkling kitchen and Sumo's clean bowl. He then turned and opened the fridge.

"Connor! What the fuck did you do!?" echoed through the house.

The sound of hurried steps was heard before Connor came into the kitchen. "Yes Hank?" his voice was pleasant, confused, but pleasant. His LED flashed yellow.

"What the fuck have you done to my house!?" came the incredulous reply.

Connor tilted his head. "I cleaned Hank."

"That's not what I'm talking about." Hank dramatically pointed to the open refrigerator. "Where the fuck is my food?"

"My scanners indicated that it was not safe for consumption so I threw it away. The food in your cupboards were out of their use-by date as well. I will be able to go and collect some food when the store opens at ten." Connor's response was matter of fact.

Hank eyed Connor and felt himself being torn between yelling at the android, who had only been thinking of his wellbeing, and sighing in resignation. In the end he let out a sigh. "Connor is there _anything_ that I can eat in this house?"

"You have some crackers."

Hank sighed and took a beer from the fridge. "I'll just… wait until the shops open." Hank seemed deflated, he patted Connor's shoulder. "Thanks for cleaning the house."

At seeing a small smile on the Lieutenants face, Connor found himself smiling.

XXX

"So, Androids have finally been given the rights that they deserve." Hank said while they stood by the burger shop. He munched on some of his burger.

"Once Markus was able to sit with the president, they were able to work through rights for Androids. It will take time, but I believe that, given time, the humans will accept our presence and we will be able to integrate into society with more ease." Connor replied watching Hank eat- he had been talking to Hank about his cholesterol. While Hank seemed to not care about his health, a scan of Hank's burger showed Connor that it had considerably less calories than what he was used to seeing Hank eat. It was a start.

"So what are you," Hank gestured at Connor with his hands. "what are you going to do now?"

His words made Connor pause, his LED blinking yellow. "What do you mean?"

Hank continued to gesture with his hands, putting emphasis on his words. "You've got freedom! You can do whatever you want now. You could get a job- what do you _want_ to do?"

Connor looked away as he thought on Hank's words. his LED flashed between yellow and red. "I… I want to go back to work with you." He looked up at Hank who was now eyeing him with a raised brow. His LED settled back down to blue. "I liked working with you. It would make me happy to return to the precinct."

Hank did not say anything for some time, he instead payed attention to his food. Connor felt nervous and attempted to read the Lieutenants face. "Well," Hank eventually said after a slurp of his soda. "we'd better chat to Jeffery soon."

Connor smiled brightly.

XXX

Simon smiled sadly as he watched Markus and North talking. He knew that he had no right to feel the way that he did, but he could not stop the pang that shot through him at the sight of them together. He was not even sure if they were together, but he could not help it, he knew that at least North held feelings for Markus, but he had no ideas to Markus' feelings. It did not matter though, the two of them looked so perfect together that it was only a matter of time.

He looked away from the two as the jealous feeling increased. He wished that it was he that had the attention of their leader. He was not sure when it had started, it had developed over time that when he had realised, it had hit him like a freight train. He wanted Markus. He _loved_ Markus.

He walked away from the scene before him. It was too much. The war had just ended and everyone's emotions were on high alert. His own included. The last thing that he needed was the stress of his unrequited feelings weighing him down. He wanted to cry but he held it back. He was so torn, he did not want North and Markus to be together. He wanted to be the one to be with the leader, to hold him, kiss him, love him. But on the other hand, he wanted Markus to be happy. He needed Markus to be happy. Markus deserved all of the happiness in the world. Even if the happiness was not with him.

"Simon." Josh nodded to him as they passed each other.

"Josh." Simon returned.

After walking aimlessly through the hallways of the former cyberlife building that had been claimed by the androids in the civil war, Simon eventually found himself standing by one of the buildings many water fountains. This one was smaller than some of the other ones, but it was no less beautiful. He reached out and touched the water, a smile flickered over his face as the fountains fish scattered.

"I enjoy watching the fish." Came the smooth voice of the very person whom Simon was thinking of.

Simon, to his credit, managed not to jump. He had not even noticed Markus coming up to him. When had he gotten so sneaky. "They are such fascinating creatures." Simon said in response. "I feel… calm when I watch them."

Markus nodded, he did not move his eyes from the water as he spoke. "Something is bothering you." He went silent for a few moments as though waiting on a response. "You can talk to me about it, you know?"

If Simon had not removed his LED, it would have turned red. Simon was shocked at the bitter laugh the escaped his own lips. "I'd rather not talk about it." He glanced at their leader. "If that's all the same." They went silent again.

XXX

"Hey Connor!" Hank called as he walked into the house. In his hand was a six pack of beer. "Connor!"

Connor walked from the kitchen, a spatula in hand. "Yes Hank?"

Hank strode towards Connor with large, excited steps. He stopped before Connor and sniffed the air. "Just what are you cooking? That smells _amazing._ "

Connor smiled and moved back to the oven where he was cooking on a frying pan. "I am cooking a light chicken stir fry." He turned the ingredients in the pan. "It is low in cholesterol and fats-"

"Alright, alright!" Hank cut him off. "I get it. I eat shit." He waved at Connor dismissively. "Maybe I like eating shit." One look at Connor's face caused Hank to sigh and place his beers on the table. "Alright, I'll eat it… just don't stare at me like a kicked poodle."

Connor smiled and went back to tending to the food. Hank watched him with a wryly expression, he cracked open a beer and took a swig. He then made a humming sound as he remembered something. He clicked his fingers to gain Connor's attention and swallowed his beer.

"I spoke to Jeffry today," he noticed the way that Connor's eyes lit up. "he says that you can come back tomorrow, if you want to-" he let out a startled sound as he found himself being pulled into a hug.

Connor could not have taken the smile off his face, even if he had tried. He had no control of his emotions, which had caused him to pull Hank to him. Gratitude, happiness, excitement, love… all of these emotions pulsed through his systems. It took Hank a few moments of shocked silence, but he found himself quickly returning the hug.

"You're welcome Son."

XXX

Ralph held himself as he pushed further into the wall. He did not know how long he had been in the camp. It could have been hours, could have been days, it could have been weeks. He had heard the other androids saying that they were being released today. He did not believe it. He had no faith, no _trust_ in the humans. His LED flashed red. The Humans had done nothing but hurt Ralph. Why should he believe that they were going to release them? Humans lied. Humans hurt Ralph and the other androids.

He scratched at his arm nervously. He wanted to turn his skin back on, it seemed trivial, but something that small made him feel safer. Less _exposed._ He wanted to be out of this place. The humans were lying they were going to recycle Ralph. Not release him. He started to shake. He was scared. He was scared of the humans. He was scared to die.

A sound from the android crowd caught his attention. He looked up. His eyes widened at the sight of the Androids pouring out of the facility. What was happening? Were they being… freed? His body shook as a flurry of emotions took him. His LED flashed rapidly between red and yellow. Their had to be something wrong with his eyes, a system, or hardware malfunction. There was no way that he was actually seeing the humans letting them out.

So he stayed. He stayed frozen in his spot. He refused to move as he waited for the deception. He waited for the soldiers to come in and destroy them all. He waited until he was the last one in the camp. The silence of the haunting place causing more panic in him. He closed his eyes held himself tighter.

Then he heard it. Footsteps. He knew what was going to happen next. He briefly thought of Kara and hoped that she had found the safety and peace that she had wanted. He then thought of his previous owners and payed to rA9 that they got what was coming to them.

He jumped as he felt a hand touch his shoulder gently. He opened his eyes and was met with a pair of green ones. He frowned and shrunk back further into the wall. His eyes wildly scanning the young woman kneeling before him. She seemed to be a scientist, or a doctor from her white lab coat. She pushed her hazel hair behind her ears and her pink lips formed into a warm smile.

"Are you okay?" She removed her pale hand and placed her hands on her knees.

Ralph looked away. "Ralph doesn't want to talk to you."

"I would like to talk to you, Ralph." She replied. "My name is Claire, I used to work for Cyberlife," her voice dropped sadly. "I don't want anything to do with them now, but I do want to help you."

"Humans are bad, hurt Ralph, just kill me, Ralph doesn't want to be lied to." His LED flashed red.

"I'm not lying." Claire smiled sadly at him. "I want to help. You have suffered enough, Ralph. Is there anything I can do to prove that I want to help you?"

Ralph looked up, his dark eyes locked with her dark. "Y-you can t-turn on Ralph's skin." He finally said.

Claire smiled and nodded. "I can do that."

Ralph watched with cautious eyes and flinched as Claire pulled a device out of her coats pocket. He trembled and his LED flashed wildly as she pressed it to the side of his head. The device made a small beeping sound before Ralph watched as his skin reappeared on his body. His eyes widened and he held his arms out as he inspected his body. Joy filled him and he leapt from the ground and started to dance happily.

Claire stood and waited for him to finish. When he did he turned to her. He noticed that she was holding a coat out to him and pointedly looking at his face. He tilted his head in confusion before he realised what was happening. He took the coat and put it on. It was tight but it was long enough to cover everything.

"Ralph thanks you Claire." Ralph finally said. "Why did you help Ralph?"

Claire smiled. "I worked for the company that contributed to your pain. You're alive Ralph. I want to help you." She held a hand out to him. "Would you let me help you." Her smile brightened and it was the most beautiful thing that Ralph had ever seen.

Ralph looked down at the hand. His LED turned yellow as he assessed his options. Eventually he found himself placing his hand in hers. "Ralph will go with you."

A/N: there will be more soon! I hope that you liked it!

Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: The next part! I hope that you enjoy it!

After It All

Connor was greeted with smiles as he walked beside Hank through the DPD. He felt happiness that he was being so easily welcomed back. He almost felt as though he had never left. He was glad to be back. The idea of working made him feel complete. He needed to be busy. He followed Hank to their old desks and his eyes widened at the sight of a small plant-Spathiphyllum, a peace lilly, his scanners supplied- on the table with a card that had 'Welcome back!' in big bubble letters.

He stepped to the table and with a shaky hand he lifted the card he flipped it over and scanned through the names on it. It appeared to have been signed by most of the people in the precinct, except for Gavin. He closed the card. The absence of Detective Reed's name did not surprise him in the slightest. He looked over at Hank and found the Lieutenant watching him with a soft smile. His arms folded across his chest.

"Did you set this up for me?" he asked.

Hank let out a silent laugh and moved closer to Connor. He wrapped an arm around the Androids shoulder as a grin formed on his face. "Welcome back Connor."

Connor returned the smile and as he did, a flashing light almost made him jump. He looked over to see one of the other officer's, Chris, standing with a camera. "For the occasion." He explained as the photo pushed out from the polaroid. He held it gently as it developed. Once it had, he held it out to the pair.

Connor felt something in his system glitch at the sight of Hank and himself in the photo. Hank looked so _happy,_ he looked so happy. In that moment, he decided that the photo was one of his favourite items in the world. He was already planning where he would put it on his desk when Hank reached over and took the item from Chris. Connor watched with wide eyes as Hank walked over to his desk, hummed a happy tune, and pinned the photo to his wall.

Connor remained silent and watched as Hank sat at his desk and looked up at Connor expectantly.

"Well sit down!" Hank snapped and gestured to Connor's desk. "Just cause it's your first day, doesn't mean you're getting slack- come on move!"

"Yes Lieutenant!"

XXX

Kara watched with a smile as Alice chased after a dog. The three of them had made it to Canada and were now spending time with Rose and her brother. It was a wonderful place, Canada. It was a place where Alice smiled every day, she had yet to see the girl frown. The happiness that she was filled with at that thought made her glad that they had taken the risk to cross the border. She was also glad that they had all made it. She was truly happy.

She watched as Alice fell to the ground and the dog jumped on her and attacked her with licking. She found herself reminded of the story that she had told Alice and how she had given the story a happy ending. At first she had chosen the happy ending because Alice was a little girl and needed the hope. She found herself glad that she had chosen the happy ending to the story, as that was exactly what had happened to them. A happy ending.

"Alice is so happy." Kara looked over to see rose walking over to her. "It warms my heart to see her like this." Rose watched as Alice jumped from the ground and ran away from the dog, shrieking happily.

Kara nodded. "Thank you, Rose." She said. "Thank you for everything that you've done for us."

Rose smiled and pulled Kara in for a side hug. "It's okay love." She squeezed Kara tightly before she released her and turned to walk away. "You're welcome to stay as long as you need.

Kara watched as Rose walked away. She then turned and saw Luther sitting on the grass, his eyes locked on Alice as she continued to chase the dog. Kara walked over to Luther and sat beside him. "Are you okay?" she asked when she noticed the intense stare on his face.

Luther glanced at her, he nodded. "The little one and you are safe, Kara. I am happy for how this has ended."

Kara dropped her head onto his shoulder and leaned against him. "There's only one thing left." She said. Her eyes locked on Alice.

Luther hummed in response. "What is that?" he touched his hand to her back.

Kara nodded, her eyes watered. "We live."

"Kara! Luther!" Alice's shout was the only warning they received before an Alice shaped blob tackled into them.

XXX

"Plastic prick shouldn't be here!" Connor paused mid-step at the words. He frowned and looked over to see Gavin standing with his partner in the coffee room. "Fucking asshole has no rights being here- fucking plastic asshole is the reason we had the fucking civil war. Prick should have been melted in one of those fucking camps!"

Connor's LED span yellow and his lips tightened. If Hank was with him he knew the other man would have encourage him going and punching the detective. But Connor was not Hank so he found himself pushing away the urge. Gavin was an asshole, that wasn't about to change. So, he continued on his way to Captain Fowlers office. Where Hank and he were going to receive their new assignment.

He opened the door to the office and sat beside Hank. He listened as they were given their assignment. They were going to be investigating the murders of some Androids. Connor found himself not surprised at the situation. Of course, humans were going to react badly to the changes to Android statuses- a situation like this was inevitable.

When they went back to their desks Connor activated the terminal to investigate the files. He was about to link with the machine when; "Okay, what happened?" Hank's voice interrupted him.

Connor looked over to Hank who was watching him with a raised brow. "What do you mean?"

"You've got that sad fucking puppy look- what happened." Hank picked up his mug and took a swig. He grimaced as he tasted cold coffee. He then poured the cold liquid onto his bonsai. Connor resisted the need to tell him that that was the reason that the bonsai was dying.

"It's nothing important Hank." Connor replied placatingly, his eyes flashed to Gavin for a split second before going back to Hank. "It is not important and will not affect the assignment."

Hank looked over at Gavin who was still talking rudely about androids, then back at Connor again. His brow rose as he assessed the situation. Connor almost cursed Hank for being more perceptive than he let on. "You want me to hit him?" Hank offered.

Connor, despite himself, smiled. "You do not need to. Something is bound to happen to him at some point." He linked with the terminal and proceeded to skim through the files.

"Careful Connor." Hank leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "that sounds like a belief in karma- try not to start carving rA9 into the desk."

Connor took note of the teasing voice and let out a laugh. "I'll try not to Lieutenant."

XxX

Ralph stood awkwardly in a white and blue kitchen as he waited for Claire. She had gone to get dressed after having her breakfast. He looked at her empty white bowl on the wooden circle table. He felt the urge to clean it, he tried his best to ignore it. He was not in her home to be her slave- she had said so herself. No, he was there because she wanted to help him, and she had. He had been there for two months and she had already fixed all of the damage on his body, she had yet to fix his face, but he was grateful for what she had done.

He picked up the bowl and took it to her sink. _He was not being her slave_ , he told himself as he started to clean the bowl. He was cleaning as a way to repay what she had done for him. She had no reason to help him, but she had chosen to. She had chosen to repair him, laugh with him, treat him like an equal and be the most beautiful person that he had seen.

"Ralph." Ralph turned to see Claire leaning against the doorway. His eyes scanned her body and took in the sight of the pale pink shirt and grey skirt that she wore. She reminded him of some hellebore that he used to care for. "You don't need to do that." She pushed herself from the wall and walked towards him.

Ralph ducked his head, his LED flashed and he placed the bowl on the drying rack. "Ralph wanted to." He said. "You didn't need to help Ralph, but you do. Ralph is grateful." He flashed her a small grin.

She returned his grin and reached out to touch his shoulder. Ralph felt his systems glitch at her action. "I want to help you Ralph." Her thumb rubbed against his shoulder. "You have been treated atrociously. I want to help you, I want to fix what the other humans did to you."

Ralph reached up and clutched at the hand on his shoulder. "Thank you Claire."

A/N: Just a short chapter today. I hope that you enjoyed it! More to come!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: A new chapter, it makes me happy when you guys tell me that you're enjoying the story! Thanks!

After It All

"Sumo is going to really enjoy eating that." Hank commented from behind him.

Connor pushed the dirt into the hole around a tomato plant sapling and patted the soil in place. He then started to dig another hole. He had had the idea to start a garden, with the permission of Hank he had started the garden in the space beside Sumo's dog house. Once his hole had been dug we went about planting some lettuce. When they had grown he hoped that Hank would be willing to eat some.

"No he won't," Connor replied to Hank's statement. "he's a good boy, aren't you Sumo?" he reached over to the dog in question and rubbed his head.

Sumo barked happily in response and licked Connor's hand.

Hank clicked his tongue and crossed his arms with a dramatic eye roll. "Suck up."

Sumo, ignored his master and with a happy wag of his tail he picked up a plant in his mouth and seemed to hold it out to Connor. Connor accepted the plant and went about planting it. Connor patted the dog in response and Hank found himself laughing and his dog's antics. Sumo barked happily and moved to get another plant.

XXX

They were talking again. Simon frowned. Markus and North were sitting close to each other and talking. About what, he did not know, they were too close to each other for him to hear anything. Truth be told he did not want to hear what they were saying. He did not need their relationship thrown any further in his face.

He turned on the bench that he was sitting on so that he could watch foyers the water feature. Markus, North, Josh and himself were sitting in the main office of their cyberlife building while they waited for the President of the United States to meet with them. It had been close to a year since the civil war and there were still meetings that needed to happen, still laws that needed to be passed.

Politics, Simon hated politics. One would think that, being an Android, he would have the patience for politics and perhaps enjoy it. He did not. He hated the very idea, laws that promise one thing that are veiled with lies. Politicians and all politics in turn, was a lie. A hopeful farce, much like the humans that he had known in his old life.

" **Simon?** "Simon heard Josh's voice in his head.

" **Yes Josh?** " he asked, putting all of his focus into watching the water.

" **Something is bothering you.** " Josh replied, his voice laced with concern. " **Something has been bothering you for some time, do you need to talk about it?** "

Simon turned to look over at Josh who was sitting across from him. His frown deepened. " **It is not important.** " His tone was cold, he was honestly sick of people asking him about his feelings. It was a problem that no one could fix, so why even bother worrying about it? Why bother caring about him?

Josh glanced at Markus briefly, his LED flashed yellow before he looked back at Simon. " **Please Simon,** " he pleaded. " **We're all worried about you. You've been so distant lately.** "

Simon shot up from the bench, his fists clenched and his LED flashed red. "I am going for a walk." He said thinly. "I will be back in five minutes." He stormed from the room, ignoring the eyes on his back.

XXX

Ralph scratched at his arm. He was sitting on Claire's blue 50's sofa and waiting for her to return. She was on a date with _that man._ Ralph glanced at the photo frames that covered her grey feature wall in an attempt to distract himself. He looked over the photos, he did not know the people but he assumed that they were her friends and family. He felt a smile tug at his lips at how happy Claire was in the photos. She had the most vibrant of smiles, so beautiful so wonderful.

He looked up at the clock. It had only been ten minutes since he had last looked at the clock. Meaning she still had another forty minutes until she would be back. He hoped that she didn't bring _that man_ with her. _That man_ being her boyfriend, Adam, his name was and Ralph did not like him one bit. There was something wrong about him, something that Ralph could not name. Something in his instincts warned him about the man.

He had talked to Claire about his concerns, but she had merely smiled at him with her warm smile and told him that he was probably just suffering from the trauma that humans had done to him. Adam, probably looked like, or reminded him of one of his attackers, she had explained. He had disagreed, he was a paranoid android yes, but he knew when there was something wrong with someone.

After waiting for what felt like ages, the sound of the automated door welcoming Claire jolted him from his thoughts. He rose from the chair and twirled his hands excitedly as she walked into the room. "Claire!" he cheered happily. "Ralph waited for you to return! Ralph made you some dessert, it's in the fridge!"

Claire grinned at him. "You are a treasure Ralph." She followed him into the kitchen and watched as he jumped to the fridge and pulled the door open with excitement. She took the bowl of trifle and sat at the table.

"Come, sit with me." She gestured to the chair beside her.

Ralph took the chair and plopped beside her. "How does it taste?" He asked. "Is it sweet? Succulent?"

Claire finished her mouth full and looked at Ralph who was watching her expectantly. "Ralph, you surprise me every day. Who would have thought that you were such an amazing cook."

Ralph beamed.

XXX

Connor sat across from Hank in the booth at 'Jimmy's bar' and watched the Lieutenant down another drink. They had been invited out to drinks by their new colleague 'Adrian'. When Connor had expressed that he could not drink Adrian had expressed that he 'did not mind, he would just be happy for the company'. Connor had been happy to join them at the bar, Adrian seemed like a nice person and he always made an effort to include Connor, he even went as far as to buy him little trinkets because he couldn't drink coffee.

"It was nice of Detective Archer to invite us out." Connor commented as Hank downed another whiskey. That made six, he noted with a frown.

Hank nodded and looked down mournfully at his drink. He looked over at Adrian who was standing at the bar. "Bring us another?' he called out. Adrian nodded and went about ordering. "Yeah it was nice, I really needed the drink, it's been a long week." Hank leaned back into his chair.

"Perhaps you should slow down Hank?" Connor suggested, thinking about the state that Hank would be in come the morning.

Hank waved his hand dismissively at his partner. "It's Saturday tomorrow, I'm having my fucking weekend." He nodded to Adrian who passed the whiskey over and slid into the booth to sit beside Connor.

Adrian sent Connor a smile before he frowned. Connor watched as Adrian brushed his brown hair out of his eyes, only to frown again as the hair flopped back down. Adrian attempted to push his hair away again, only to frown as it flopped down again. "I think it's time for a haircut." Adrian mumbled and took a sip of his drink.

Connor looked at the condensation on Adrian's bottle, then back up at Adrian's hair. "Detective Archer-"

Adrian held his hand up, his brown eyes flashing. "Please, call me Adrian."

"Adrian." Connor repeated. "would you like some assistance?" he gestured with his hands to the Detective's hair. When Adrian shrugged his shoulder's in consent, he took the moisture from the bottle onto his hands. He then reached over and brushed the hair back, the water on his hand seemed to do the job and the hair stayed in place.

As Connor pulled his hand back, he noted that Adrian had gone completely still, a brief scan indicated that his heart rate had accelerated. What was the cause of this? Was he having some kind of reaction?

"Adrian?" Connor tilted his head and eyed the Detective.

Adrian seemed to snap from whatever was happening to him. He took a quick swig of his beer and sent Connor a small smile. "T-Thanks Conner."

Hank watched with a cat like grin.

X

"I don't want to go to bed, thank you." Hank slurred as Connor carried him through the hallway towards the bedroom.

"You have ingested twenty-one standard drinks, you need to go to bed Hank." Connor replied with a matter of fact voice. He carried Hank to his room and sat him on the bed. In the state that Hank was in, there was no way that the man was struggling, this made Connor's job both easier and harder. Easier because Hank wasn't struggling, harder because he was now practically dead weight.

"Hey Connor… I wanna ask you something…" Hank slurred as he was lowered onto the bed. "Do you have a penis?"

Connor, who had been pulling the blanket over Hank, paused. "Sorry?" surely had not heard that correctly, and if he had, _why_ in the world would Hank want to know that?

Hank took the blanket from Connor and snuggled into it. "Do you have a dick? Are you androids built…" he trailed off.

Connor's LED flashed but he answered the question non the less. "I was designed to be ready for any situation that may arise in the line of work, so yes, I am built with a _penis._ " He almost jumped as Hank let out a loud laugh.

"Well t-that's good!" he continued to laugh.

"Why did you need to know that Hank?" Connor asked. When it became apparent that Hank had not heard him over his own laughter, he repeated the question.

Hank turned and snuggled his head on his pillow. "We're going to give you a bedroom tomorrow." He started to snore. "Cole's old room.." the snoring increased and Connor was left sitting in the room with wide eyes.

X

"You don't need to do this Hank," Connor insisted as Hank started to pack away children's toys into boxes. "I don't need sleep and I am quite happy with sitting on the couch." He stood awkwardly as Hank seemed to ignore him and continued to put items away. "Hank."

Hank let out a sigh and rose from the floor. Her pushed his hands into the pockets of his tack pants. He shifted as though he was going to say or do something terribly uncomfortable. "Listen son…" he looked away, unable to meet Connors eyes. "Cole isn't going to be using it and you deserve your own space…" he met Connor's eyes briefly. "I want you to have it."

Connor was struck by an emotion that he could not name. He felt the desire to pull Hank into a hug and not let go. He tried to find the words to express how he was feeling but he found himself unable to process the words. In the end he didn't need to as Hank turned back to continue cleaning the room out.

"Besides…" he said, a strange edge to his voice. "You're going to need to a room for when you start bringing boys home."

"I'm not bringing Adrian home!" Connor said defensively.

"I never said Adrian!" Hank laughed.

A/N: Another chapter done, I hope that you liked it!

Adrian is from my other story 'Loss' check it out if you have a chance.

Thanks again for reading, I'll have more soon! :)


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: A new chapter! Enjoy! This chapter has a lot more structure than the others, for something that started as Drabbles, it keeps building up.

After It All

"Jeffery are you fucking joking me!?" Hank's voice could be heard through the glass.

Connor looked up from his terminal with a raised brow. Just what was going on in there? Captain Fowler had requested that Hank 'report to my office', some forty minutes ago. Connor had been told to wait, so he had sat back at his desk and was currently doing just that. Waiting. From how long the meeting had been going for, he wished that he was in the room, especially after Hank's outburst. He wanted to know what could have caused it, though knowing Hank, it could be anything.

"Somebodies not Happy." Connor looked up to see Adrian standing at his desk, a tray of coffee's in his hands.

Connor nodded in response. "Hank once told me that he had known Captain Fowler for, 'A long time', perhaps this is just how they interact?" he watched as Adrian placed a coffee on Hanks desk. Adrian then reached into his pocket and pulled out a little dachshund figurine. Connor gratefully accepted the gift and found a home for it on his desk.

Adrian chuckled. "That does sound like the Lieutenant." He glanced back at Connor, his eyes glittering. "Is he this happy at home?" he quipped.

Connor went to reply. "Is who this happy at home?" Hank's irritated voice cut through.

Adrian and Connor looked over to see Hank leaning against his desk. His arms were crossed and he was watching them with a raised brow. He looked less than pleased. Connor took a quick glance at the office and noted that contrary to Hank, Captain Fowler looked, _pleased_. This caused him to frown in confusion. After Hank's display, why would the Captain look happy?

Adrian raised his hands defensively. "Nothing sir!" he glanced at Connor and winked before he left to give out some of the other coffee's.

Hank watched his retreating back with narrowed eyes. He then glared at Connor. "You're boyfriends a smart arse."

Connor knew that Hank was trying to bait him so he ignored the 'boyfriend' comment for the moment, and instead decided to enquire about the meeting with Captain Fowler. "How did your meeting with the Captain go?"

Hank let out a grunt and moved to slump onto his chair. He clenched his fist around the arm of his chair and grasped the hot coffee themos with the other. With an almost pouting face, he took a sip of his coffee. His eyes slipped close at the taste of the hot liquid. "He may be a pain in the arse, but he knows where to buy good coffee.." he took another sip before giving a sideways look to Connor. "That cocksucker Perkins filed a complaint."

Images of Hank sucker punching Perkins in the nose flashed through Connor's mind, his lips twitched in amusement. "What is going to happen to you?" he asked, suddenly serious.

Hank gave some attention to his coffee, he closed his eyes and let out a groan. "Asshole wanted me fired, I think I'd prefer it to this." He grumbled.

"What is it Hank?" Connor's LED flashed yellow as he was taken with concern for his friend. What was going to happen to Hank? Was he going to another precinct? Was he going to lose Hank? He started to panic.

Hank watched as the emotions passed over his face. His lips curled into a small smile. "Relax, I'm on traffic control for the next month, we'll be back to solving homicides in no time." Hank let out a chuckle which Connor found himself joining.

XXX

"Ralph.." Came a sniffly voice from the living room. Ralph rose from his chair in the kitchen and hastily walked into the living room. His eyes widened and his LED flashed yellow at the sight of Claire.

The girl in question was standing at the entrance to the hallway which led to the rest of the apartment. She was shivering as though cold, despite the fact that she was wearing track pants, a shirt and was wrapped in a blanket. With worry Ralph looked at her face. She was pale, nearly a shade of grey, her eyes were droopy and he could hear a slight wheeze as she breathed.

"A-are you alright, Claire?" he reached out to her, concern washed over him as she shivered.

"I-I know that I p-promised you," she sniffed, she sounded completely congested. "promised you," she sneezed. "promised you that we would go check out the botanical gardens… but… can we please just lie on the couch and watch T.V?" she smiled at him weakly before she started to cough.

"Of course, Claire." Ralph put an arm around her and led her to the couch. Once he was satisfied that she was seated safely he walked to the kitchen. "Ralph will make you some hot chocolate!" he filled her kettle with some water and placed it on the stovetop.

"R-Ralph!" Claire called out with a cough. "You don't need to make a fuss.. it's just a cold." Her voice was weak and Ralph had trouble understanding it.

Ralph ignored her protests and waited for the shriek of the kettle. Once it started to scream, he took it from the stovetop and went about making the hot chocolate. He made a point to add lots of chocolate to make it smooth, so that it would go down her throat painlessly. Once he had finished he cradled it in his hands. He treated it as though it were a treasure as he carried it into the room.

He saw Claire coughing into her sleeve and he hastily passed her the hot drink. Claire accepted the drink with a weak smile and he watched with his hands clenched together as she drank from the mug. His fingers twitched nervously as she drank, he hoped that she enjoyed the drink. He hoped that it made her feel better, he could not bear to see her in pain.

"How does it taste?" he asked hopeful.

Claire pulled the drink away from her mouth and licked her lips. A light smile formed. "It's wonderful," she looked up at him with grateful eyes. "thank you Ralph." She patted the sofa beside her. "Sit with me."

Ralph hesitantly sat beside her. He had been living with her for nearly two years and he still felt uncomfortable sitting with her on the chair. He always worried that he was going to say or do something wrong. Making her unhappy would kill him. He jumped as he felt a weight rest on his lap.

He looked down to see a head of blonde hair resting in his lap. He glanced up and saw the hot chocolate resting on the table, most of it's contents had been drunk. He glanced back down again and heard Claire sniff and tell the television to turn on. Some game show turned on, but Ralph ignored it. His only focus was the woman in his lap. His companion. His _friend._

"How is your cheek doing?" Claire mumbled into his lap.

Ralph touched his cheek. Repairing the damage had taken the longest off all of the repairs that he had needed. The skin was now discoloured and looked different but it still felt the same. It was perfect. He had always been grateful to her. He touched her hair, his fingers ran through her blonde locks.

"Ralph's cheek is fine." He replied, he brushed hair out of her face before continuing to run his fingers through her hair. "I am… Ralph is glad he met you."

Claire let out a soft moan that caused Ralph to freeze. "That feels incredible Ralph…" she closed her eyes and snuggled further into his lap.

At her words Ralph snapped out of his stupor and continued to brush through her hair.

"You're amazing Ralph…" light snoring escaped her lips and even though she was asleep, Ralph did not stop his task.

XXX

"Whoa.. this place is amazing…" Adrian commented as they walked through the Cyberlife building. He was accompanying Connor to meet with Markus. There were still some tensions between the androids and the humans. There were reports of assaults every day, so they were meeting with Markus to discuss ways that the problem could be solved. Fowler had felt that Connor would be better suited to this because of his Android status, and Adrian was to work with him because Hank was still on traffic duty.

"It is impressive." Connor commented glancing around. He had been to the building so many times that he was used to the sight. To hear someone comment on it's beauty made him think about it. Adrian was right, the buildings interior was aesthetically pleasing.

"Oh my gosh!" Adrian exclaimed. "Look at that water feature! It's beautiful." He ran to the large fountain in the foyer. "Connor can you believe this? How many hours went into building this? Look at the structural integrity. It's absolutely astounding!"

Connor walked to stand beside Adrian who reached out to touch the water. "I wanted to be an artist when I was younger." Adrian said softly, pulling his hand back. "I used to draw water all the time. Watching this… reminds me of when I was younger.." he smiled sadly.

"Do you still draw?" Connor asked.

"Yes…" Adrian said softly before his cheeks reddened. "That is to say I'm not that good anymore. I probably wasn't all that good in the first place but I definitely am no where near as good as I used to be." He started on a self-deprecating rant.

"I would like to see your drawings sometime." Connor cut him off, he was used to Adrian's nervous rambling habit by now.

Adrian stilled. His cheeks going brighter and Connor's scanners picked up what seemed to be a small heart palpitation. "Y-You would?" Adrian stammered.

"I would."

X

"Sometimes I envy you. You and Markus." Simon said quietly as he stood beside Connor. The two of them were watching while Adrian quizzed Markus on ways that he could establish trustful relationships with Androids.

Connor glanced at the other Android through the corner of his eyes. "Why is that?" he was genuinely curious.

Simon was quiet for a long time. His eyes transfixed on Markus. Connor noted his behaviour as strange, though watching Markus was not unusual for Simon. No, Connor had noticed Simon watching the Android leader on more than one occasion. There was something different about him today. He seemed more… depressed than usual? Connor glanced at Markus whose eyes seemed to shift to Simon before snapping back to Adrian. Perhaps the two had had some form of disagreement?

"You both have had the gift of wonderful humans in your lives." Simon said simply. There was no malice in his voice, no sadness, he was just stating a fact. He looked over at Connor. "Markus has Carl, a wonderful father who thinks the world of him… and you… you have not only a father in Hank, you have that man too." He gestured to Adrian.

Connor tilted his head his LED flashed yellow. "Hank?" Hank as a father figure? Was that how people viewed he and Hank? He had never thought about it himself. He had always considered Hank a friend, but a father figure? He frowned and scanned over his memories of Hank. Hank defending him. Hank laughing with him. Hank offering him a place to stay, Hank was always there with him and had even given him Cole's room. All of these could be attributed to someone who was a close friend, but Connor found himself agreeing with Simon. If he had a Father, he would want it to be Hank…

He wanted to thank Hank, to show him that he was grateful for having the man in his life. That he appreciated everything that Lieutenant had done for him. What could he do though? As he processed ideas of different ways that he could thank Hank, he noticed Simon watching him.

"I seem to have given you, what do humans say… 'food for thought'?"

X

As he sat in the taxi with Adrian on their way back to the DPD, Connor found himself still pondering on his and Hank's relationship. He felt that he had done lots to thank Hank for his hospitality, he cleaned the house, cooked decent meals, but he hadn't really thanked Hank for being _Hank_.

"You okay Connor?" Adrian asked with a tilt of his head.

"Hm? Yes." Connor replied.

Adrian raised a brow. "You sure?"

Connor tilted his head. "Adrian, how would you say thank you to someone who may be perceived as your father?"

Adrian paused for a few moments before smiling. "Connor you are something else."

X

Hank opened the door to his house in a foul mood. He hated traffic control. Jeffery knew it too, which was most likely why the asshole had put him on it. Fucking prick. He closed the door behind him and paused at the sound of Jazz. Connor must have been playing it, he was grateful that it wasn't too loud, unlike the last time the android had played Jazz. He walked into the kitchen and was stunned to see a plate with a burger and a six pack.

"Connor, what's going on here?" something was _wrong_ no way had Connor bought him some beer and a burger.

Connor looked up from where he was seated at the opposite side of the table. "I wished to thank you Hank."

Hank frowned. "Connor I think you've thanked me enough, you keep this mess clean for goodness sakes."

Connor shook his head. "I wish to thank you for everything that you do, Hank." Connor hesitated, suddenly feeling unsure of himself. "To thank you for being a… a father."

Hank took a step back as he was hit with the force of the statement. While his brain processed just what had been said to him, his eyes locked onto Connor's. The poor kid looked like a terrified puppy. "Oh Connor.." he walked over to the Android. "Don't give me that fucking puppy look." He pulled the unsure Android out his chair and into a hug.

"You're welcome Son."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: This is a very Simon chapter. Lots of Simon. I hope you all enjoy it.

After It All

Simon looked at himself in the mirror. He was standing in the bathroom of their 'New Jericho' which was just the old Cyberlife building. His eyes were locked on the glowing ring on his temple. He twitched at the sight of it. He had been constantly removing and reapplying it for the last three months. Something about it filled him with anxiety, he had initially removed it after the revolution, but some two years later had been filled with the urge, the _need_ to put it back on. That had been routine for him for the last year, remove, reapply, remove, reapply.

He pressed his fingers to the ring and resisted the urge to pull it out. He knew why he was doing it. The pain. Removing the LED was the closest he could get to feeling physical pain, sure since becoming deviant he could feel pain, to a degree at least, but the feeling of removing the LED was _intense_. It was a reprieve from his emotional pain. Ripping it from his body was a catharsis. It was addictive as it was bad for him.

He smacked his hand against the counter. He couldn't do it. He just couldn't do it. He hit the counter again. He needed to get out. He needed to get away. It hurt. _He_ hurt. Seeing him every day, loving him and knowing that he couldn't be with him. He wanted Markus to be happy, he really did. But he also couldn't bear it anymore. He turned and started walking.

"Simon?" Josh looked at him confused as Simon walked out of the bathroom and stormed past him. "Where are you going, Simon?" he chased after him.

"I'm going for a walk." The way that he was walking, in combination with his stiff voice, caught the attention of others surrounding them.

"Simon? Josh?" Markus noticed them and jogged to catch up with them. "What's going on?"

"I am going for a walk." Simon's voice raised and his LED flashed red.

"Simon-" Markus reached out to him.

Simon shrugged the hand off him and did not look back. "I will be back when I am ready."

XXX

It was a beautiful sunny day and Connor was walking to work. Hank had offered him a lift on his way to traffic control but Connor had turned him down. With how lovely the weather was, he wanted to take in some scenery and the walk gave him time to do so systems checks. All in all, he was in a good mood and all his systems were functioning.

As he reached the precinct he watched as a car pulled in at the front of the building. He looked through the window and noticed that it was Adrian in the passenger and another male in the drivers seat. A scan told him that the man was Thomas Cleary, no criminal record.

When Adrian saw him, Connor raised a hand in a wave. Adrian waved back with a bright smile and moved to leave the car. Connor watched with keen eyes as Thomas pulled a face, said something and raised his hands in… annoyance? He watched as Adrian smiled nervously and leaned over, he placed a quick kiss on Thomas' cheek before practically running from the car. The car then sped away, the cars wheels screeching on the road- a sign of aggression.

"Connor!" Adrian greeted with a smile as he jogged to the android. "How are you? Did you walk? You should have called me I could have given you a lift, well I couldn't have today my cars getting repaired but any other day I could. Actually, I might have been able to give you one today, it would have been up to my own lift though."

Connor returned the smile while he listened to Adrian's rambling. "I am well, thank you. I did walk, it was a nice change of pace. Perhaps we could ride together another time?"

Adrian smiled. "I'd like that." He then tilted his head. "Hank still on traffic?"

Connor nodded. "He tells me that he would rather be in the pigeon room than doing traffic. His moods have been low too, we've been listening to lot of heavy metal at the moment." Adrian chuckled at his words. "Can I ask you a personal question, Adrian?" Connor asked suddenly.

Adrian raised a brow but nodded. "Oh course, anything."

"That man in the car, Thomas Cleary, is he your boyfriend?" Connor took note of Adrian's increased heart rate, and that he had also gone a little white.

Adrian tugged on the sleeve of his top, a nervous habit. "Erm… that is…" he looked away. "He is."

Connor was completely unprepared for the raw emotion that shot through him. Were he human, he probably would have staggered backwards from the sheer force of it all. He was filled with emotions that he could not name, he was also filled with confusion at why he would be feeling emotions that he was taken with. It did not make any sense, why would he feel the way he was feeling, if Adrian had a boyfriend, why should he care?

"I see." Connor replied evenly. "I'm glad that you're happy."

Adrian fiddled with his sleeves. "Yeah, happy… let's go inside before Captain fowler comes and drags us by our ears."

XXX

Because Connor had walked to work this morning. In the evening, he was now left to do the same thing. Walk home. He looked up at the stars, it truly was a beautiful sight. He liked the stars, it was the simple things that gave him enjoyment in his life. Watching the stars while walking home was simple enough that he took great enjoyment in it.

While he walked he noticed someone else walking on the opposite side of the street. He paused. It was Simon. What was Simon doing down this end of Detroit?

"Simon!" Connor called out to the android.

Simon snapped his head to Connor and offered him a light wave. Connor crossed to the street to him. He took in the other's appearance. Simon looked unhappy, and there was blue blood on his knuckles, from physical force? Connor offered him a smile.

"How are you?"

Simon looked away. "I would rather not talk about it right now." He looked back at Connor. "I'm sorry, it's been a long day. You haven't done anything to deserve me snapping at you."

"You seem to need some counselling." Connor replied with a matter of fact voice. "Can I help you with that, Simon?"

Simon smiled sadly. "Sorry Connor, I'm being unnecessarily cruel to you." His smile widened. "Thank you for being kind to me." He looked away. "I have been… emotional lately, I have done something that I probably shouldn't." his eyes watered.

"Would you…" Connor hesitated. He leaned forward to see the other's face. "Would you like to come back with me for the night? You seem like you need the help."

Simon was silent for a long time. Connor was patient though and waited for the answer. Eventually Simon turned his wet eyes to Connor. The tears glistened as they caught the light from the street lamps. He nodded shakily. "I would like that, thank you Connor."

X

Hank looked at the clock. Connor had told him that he would be home by exactly eight fifty-two, which was apparently exactly forty minutes from the DPD. So given that it was now nine o'clock, Hank was feeling a little worried. Connor was never late. Connor was always on time, right down to the second. It made him paranoid. Even years after the civil war, there were still plenty of humans who were anti-android. He hoped that nothing had happened to Conner. He did not know if he could deal with the loss of another child.

"Five more minutes Sumo.." He looked at the dog who was waiting at the window for Connor. "Five more and we'll go look."

Sumo made a noise.

"I know Sumo, I know."

At the sound of a key in the door, Hank and Sumo jumped to alert. Sumo bolted to the door and waited eagerly. Hank pulled himself up from the chair and began to walk to the door when it opened. Sumo barked happily and jumped up to greet Connor. Hank all but charged at the Android.

"Connor! You okay! Nothing happened?" his panic slipped into his voice. He did not mean it to, but he had been so worried.

Connor ruffled Sumo's head and once the dog was satisfied he wandered off to his bed. Connor then looked over at Hank. He could see the concern on the older mans face and was touched by the care that the man had for him. "I am fine Hank, thanks for worrying about me." He gestured with his hands to Simon who was standing awkwardly in the doorway. "This is Simon."

Hank's eyes went wide. He glanced between the two Androids for a few moments before he held out a hand to Simon. "Uhh..nice to meet you Simon… um, welcome to our home, I did tell Connor to start bringing home boys, so, it's uhh… nice to meet you." He stepped back and gestured to the living room. "C-Come in."

"It isn't like that Hank," Connor interrupted, noticing how uncomfortable both Hank and Simon looked at the situation. "He is a friend who is having personal troubles."

Hank looked at Simon, if there ever was a contender for Connor's 'puppy' expression, it would be Simon. He let out a chuckle and ushered Simon in. "Connor barraging you with 'personal questions'?"

Simon looked at the human and he found himself smiling. "He is. Does he do it often?" Hank laughed in response to the words and patted the android on the back, while guiding him to the sofa.

Connor wasn't sure whether to smile or frown as the two made jokes about him.

XXX

"What's it like living with a Hank whose stuck-on traffic duty?" Adrian asked while he munched on an apple. The two of them were standing in the coffee room having their 'tea break'.

Connor, who was not eating but was sitting at the table across from Adrian, replied. "The first three weeks he was irritable, and not unlike a 'gossiping wife' from a daytime drama. Now that Simon has been staying with us for the last three days, he seems lighter. I believe having a new face is good for his phycological condition. He still drinks and Jimmy's Bar on the weekend. An improvement from what it used to be though."

Connor watched as a strange expression formed on Adrian's face. It was not something that he had ever seen on the usually happy face of the Detective. Something about the expression seemed uneasy. "Who is Simon?" Adrian asked curiously.

"He's my friend." Connor replied simply.

"Oh." Adrian replied quietly. "Well I'm happy that the Lieutenant is doing well. I gotta go back to work." Adrian tossed his apple into the bin and hurried back to his desk.

Connor was left sitting at the desk with a strange feeling in his 'stomach'.

XXX

Simon's hands trembled as he held the knife to the LED. It bothered him. Looking at it, feeling it, knowing that it was there… it bothered him to his core. He couldn't stand it, the need, the connection that he had with that tiny piece of plastic and wires. He let out a grunt as it snapped from his skin and landed in the basin. He let out a shuddering sound and looked down at the blue stained object in the sink. With a shaky hand he lifted the LED and slipped it into his pocket. His systems were flashing at the invasive procedure that he continued to engage in.

"That's not going to stain the basin, is it?" Simon jumped and with wide eyes, he looked over to see Hank leaning in the doorway.

"H-Hank…" he stammered. He lifted his hand to his head in an attempt to hide the blue blood on his face. It did not helped, the blue blood in the sink told the story anyway. "I-I"

Hank pushed himself off the doorway and nodded his head towards the kitchen. "Come tell me about it kid." With that said he walked away from the room.

Simon listened to the sound of Hank's retreating steps, and then the sound of a chair sliding against the floor, obviously Hank sitting on the chair. He then looked down at his blue blood on his shaking hands. He felt his heart pulse. An exhilaration took him at the knowledge that someone knew. It wasn't just his little secret. Someone cared enough to notice. With shaky hands he quickly cleaned up the blood and made his way to the kitchen, where Hank was indeed waiting for him.

Hank looked over to him and gestured to the chair across from him. Simon quietly took the spot. He fiddled his fingers nervously as the older man pinned him with a stare. Amazingly it was not anger or disappointment in his eyes, it was just concern.

"Now Kid, what's going on?" Hank leaned his elbows on the table and gestured with his hands. "Why do it to yourself?"

Simon looked down, he didn't know how to word it. He had never talked about it before, nobody had ever noticed to want to talk about it with him.

" **Simon?** " Markus' voice flowed through his mind. " **Simon, you've been gone for days… what is going on? Are you alright?** " Simon's heart ached at the tone in Markus' voice. It was full of hurt.

Simon closed his eyes and tried to ignore the androids voice. He instead did something that may be considered foolish. He sent Markus images of what he had done. Markus' words shot through his mind at the images. " **Simon! Why would you do that! Simon? Simon!** " Simon ignored the voice and returned his attention to Hank. He felt… liberated… he wondered why, in the span of minutes, he would feel so good, and why he would feel comfortable enough to finally share his problem. Not just with Hank. With Markus of all people. He briefly wondered if it was because Markus was not there, he was unable to see the other Android, which perhaps made it all easier?

"It's…" Simon began quietly. "It's the pain, it makes me… _feel_. I feel a physical euphoria."

" **Oh Simon…** "

Hank did not say anything, he instead waited for Simon to continue. "I know that it's stupid. I know it hurts… it damages my circuits every time that I do it, but I want to feel something… I have troubles expressing this…" Simon looked up at wet eyes. "…it takes away emotional pain… the loneliness… I can't stand it… I feel so alone…"

" **Simon, I never wanted you to feel like this… please come back. I want to fix this with you.** "

"Well kid, and I'm speaking from personal experience," Hank scratched his head before standing up and walking to the refrigerator. He pulled out a beer and popped the top off. "you need to find you someone who makes you happy. It doesn't need to be romance, could just be a friend, a friend who cares enough to make sure that you don't die."

He walked to his spot and had a sip of his drink. He eyed Simon for a long stretch of time before he spoke again. "Now you have Connor as a friend, and we get along well enough, but I don't think that it's either of us that you want that from, are we?" he raised a brow and gestured with his hands.

" **Simon, please.** "

Simon remained silent. His eyes locked with Hank's. The Lieutenant had a point. A good point. Simon desperately wanted that. He wanted his friends to help him. He wanted Markus to help him. But he had been so horrible to them all, would they accept him back? Would they want him back? They had every reason to turn him out, especially with how he was. Did he have a place to return to?

" **Simon, you will always be welcome back. Your home is with us. With me.** "

After a long time of sitting with Hank, the only sound being that of Hank drinking. He finally had his answer.

"Mr. Hank." He gained the attention of the Lieutenant.

Hank hummed and waited for him to continue. "I want to thank you, being here for three days with Yourself and Connor has, given me perspective. Give Connor my thanks."

Hank nodded. "Good luck kid."

XXX

"Claire?" Ralph knocked on the door to her bathroom. She had been locked in for the longest time. She had come home an hour earlier, tears pouring down her face, she had pushed past him and had locked herself in the bathroom. Ralph knocked again. "Claire, Ralph is worried about you!"

"J-just give me a minute!" Claire called out in response.

Ralph jumped back from the door and jogged on the spot. His hands waving nervously. What had happened to her? Why had she been crying? What had happened? Had that man done something to her? She had been on a date with him this evening. What had happened? Why was she crying? Ralph stopped shaking as the door opened. He watched with wide eyes as she stepped out.

Her hair was wet, showing that she had had a shower. Her face did not seem blotchy, despite the fact that she had been crying. Though he noted that she had reapplied her make up. Perhaps that was why she was not blotchy. He also noted that there was a hint of something… purple showing on her shoulder, but it was mostly covered by her dressing gown.

"Where did the bruise come from Claire?" he asked coolly. Rage was filling in his systems. That son of a bitch had hurt her!

Claire shook her head and hastily pulled her dressing gown tighter to cover the mark. "N-nothing Ralph. It's okay…" she whispered.

"Claire what happened?" Ralph pushed.

"Ralph it doesn't matter!" Claire shouted, waving her hands wildly. She started to shake. "Please Ralph… just…" she flung into his arms, the sobbing took over and she trembled in his arms. "Just be here…"

Ralph's LED flashed red. "Ralph will look after Claire."

She squeezed him tightly and cried into his shirt.

XXX

The foyer to the old Cyberlife building was surprisingly empty. Simon was baffled to see how empty it was. He had never experienced it like this. He could hear the echo of his feet as he walked. It was strange. There was usually someone in the room, even if it was only another two or three androids. He wondered why it was so deserted.

"Simon…" Simon jumped at the sound of his name. He looked up and saw Markus standing beside the water feature.

"Markus…" He started to walk. So, did Markus. Slow at first, then they both made it to a sprint… and soon enough their bodies collided and they held each other in a tight embrace.

"I am sorry for the pain that I have caused you." Markus whispered.

Simon felt a smile tug his lips and he tightened his grip on the other Android. He didn't say anything, he did not need to. Whatever needed to be said could wait.

XXX

Connor walked out of the DPD, it was the last day of Hank's 'traffic duty' so on Monday Hank would be back to working homicide with him. He could honestly say that he was excited for it. He had missed working with Hank. While he was walking, he noticed Adrian standing by his car. He frowned. Things had been uncomfortable between himself and the detective and he was at a loss as to why. There was a stiffness when they talked that was not there before.

"Good evening Adrian." Connor said as he reached the detective.

Adrian nodded in greeting. "Busy weekend?" he asked.

Connor shook his head. "Nothing out of the ordinary, tending the garden. Informing Hank of what's been happening here. And you? What about your weekend?"

Adrian smiled wryly. "I'm helping Tom move out."

Connor paused. "Oh? Why?"

"We spilt up." Came Adrian's fairly relaxed voice, given the nature of the statement.

Connor frowned and placed a hand on the detectives shoulder in a comforting gesture. "I am sorry to hear that, how long had you been together?"

Adrian looked at the hand on his shoulder, then back at Connor. A warm smile took his face. "Three years." He replied. "It was my fault, my heart wasn't in it. Tom deserves someone who can love him with all of their heart. I'm sorry it didn't happen sooner."

Connor tilted his head as he processed the information. He did not remove his hand. "If I can ask. Why wasn't your heart in it?"

Adrian let out an, almost bitter laugh. "How can you give it your all when you're madly in love with someone else?" Connor's eyes went wide, and Adrian shook his head. "Anyway. That's not important, what is, is that it's the weekend." He pointed to his car. "Need a lift?"

"I'd like that Adrian."

A/N: Not sure how I feel about this chapter. I hope you liked it, let me know!


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Thank you for your kind words, I appreciate it :)

After It All

"What have we got today?" Hank asked as he walked to the desk. He was chewing a doughnut and had the box in his other hand. He sat in his seat and looked over at Connor expectantly.

Connor removed his finger from the terminal and looked over at his partner. "You need to finish your part of the report on the Vasquez case." He watched as Hank groaned and slumped against his desk.

"Right, the report." He glared at his own terminal. "Thanks for the reminder." He looked over at his desk, seemingly looking for an excuse to procrastinate. He noticed the dead bonsai. He narrowed his eyes at the offending tree and picked it up. He proceeded to throw it into the little bin beside his desk.

"Good morning Connor!" Hank and Connor looked to see Adrian walking towards them, a tray of coffee in his hands. He stood by Connors desk and placed his coffee tray on the desk. He passed Hank a coffee and turned to Connor. He smiled sheepishly. "The shop didn't have any new dog figurines, so I got you this instead." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of bulbs, dahlia, the packet read. "For your garden.." Adrian held the packet.

Connor took the offered item and gave the detective a warm smile. "Thank you, it's thoughtful." He placed the packet on his desk. He knew where he was going to plant them.

Adrian returned the smile. "You're welcome."

Hank sipped his coffee and smiled behind the disposable cup.

"Excuse me, Connor, Lieutenant?" Connor and Hank looked over to see Chris standing at Hank's desk. "We've just had an assault, we were wondering if Connor could try getting some information out of the alleged assailant?"

Connor tilted his head. "I would be happy to assist. What happened?"

Hank leaned forward in his chair to listen and Adrian crossed his arms with a raised brow. It had to be interesting, for them to come and ask Connor to try. "He's allegedly attacked a man, Adam Williams at eight thirty. Adam went to the hospital at nine, we'll get the report on his wounds soon. We have a witness speaking on the assailants behave, says he's name's Ralph. Says that he didn't do anything wrong." Chris shrugged. "I dunno, something about the situation isn't sitting well with me, anyway 'Ralph' isn't talking, he's doing that 'Android stare', so we thought we'd ask you. He's in room one, the witness is in room two."

Connor pulled himself up from his chair. "I can try."

X

Connor walked into the questioning room. He eyed the android who was staring at the table with empty eyes. He frowned. He recognised this android. He had met them before. He scanned his memories. Where had he seen him before? His eyes widened as he remembered. _Ralph_. He remembered Ralph. Ralph had been that android who had protected Kara and Alice.

He scanned Ralphs face. Ralph had had extensive repairs. It seemed that wherever Ralph had ended up after the war, he had been taken care of and treated well. The white top and his brown slacks furthered Connor's hypothesis. He scanned over Ralph's body for any indication of blood. There were make up smudging's on his shirt and evidence of fluid staining. No indication of blood though. It didn't prove anything though, Ralph could have changed clothes.

"I never thought that I would see you again, Ralph." Connor began, walking to the opposite chair. He pulled it out and sat down.

Ralph looked up. Recognition flashed in his eyes. "Deviant hunter…" he spoke softly.

Connor nodded. "Not anymore though," he leaned his forearms on the table. "nowadays, I am just a regular cop." Connor paused for a few moments before he commented. "You've had repair work." He gestured to Ralph's face.

A smile tugged at Ralph's face. "Claire. She fixed Ralph, she takes care of Ralph and Ralph takes care of her." Ralph eyed Connor for a few moments before he nodded. "Ralph didn't do anything." He said simply.

Connor tilted his head before glancing down at the file on the table. He flipped through the pages and read the report. "At eight thirty, you assaulted Adam Williams with a knife."

"Ralph did not!" Ralph snapped defensively.

Connor eyed the android, his stress levels read 65%. Connor gestured with his hands. "Then tell me what happened."

Ralph looked at the reflective window then back at Connor. "Adam came to the apartment at eight o'clock. Claire didn't want to let him in. They talked, then he started to yell at her." Ralph's fists clenched. "He started screaming at her, said awful things to her about her, and Ralph." Ralph closed his eyes, his hands trembled. Connor noted that his stress levels raised.

"What happened Ralph?" Connor pressed.

"He started to hit Claire. Ralph pushed him away, took Claire inside, then closed the door. Adam hit the door for ten minutes, he left at eight thirty. Ralph wanted to hurt him, but Claire said not to. So Ralph stayed and held Claire while she cried, the police came to take Ralph an hour later."

Connor eyed the make up of Ralph's shirt. That seemed to corroborate with what he had said. He pushed himself up from the chair. "Thank you, Ralph." He stepped closer to the android. "The stain, on your shirt, may I sample it?" he gestured to the other's shirt. When Ralph nodded, Connor bent down and licked the android's shirt.

Even though he physically couldn't, he could _hear_ Hank's. "For fucks sake Connor!"

He stepped away from Ralph as his scanners processed the sample. Saline, tears, and a list of make up brands. The tears had been on the shirt for three hours. It matched Ralphs story. He looked down at the other android and nodded. Before he left the room, he stopped at the door when he heard Ralph's voice.

"Can I see Claire?"

Connor paused. "Soon."

X

"Did you have to taste the fucking shirt Connor?" Hank snapped as Connor walked into the watch room.

"The tears and make up suggest that he was telling the truth." Connor said simply.

"We're still waiting on the report for the hospital." Chris said. "We'll know if he's lying then." He glanced at Ralph through the window. "I agree with you though Connor, something aint settling right with it all."

Hank pushed himself from the wall and walked towards the door. He glanced at Connor. "Well, let's go question the witness."

X

Claire held herself as she cried. She tugged her white jacket tighter around herself. It was cold in the interrogation room. She had been waiting for ages to make a report. She was not leaving until she had though, Ralph deserved her to stick up for him. He had done nothing wrong. _Nothing._ She looked up at the sound of the door opening, and watched as two police officers walk in.

Hank sat in the chair across from Claire and Connor stood near the wall close to Hank. Hank leaned his forearms on the table and leaned forwards. He looked at Claire with a friendly smile. "Miss, Claire Raines?" when she nodded he continued. "I'm Lieutenant Anderson, this is Detective Connor." He gestured to Connor.

Claire nodded. "Nice to meet you…" she said shakily.

'Would you mind telling us what happened tonight?" Hank prompted.

Claire nodded. "Well… we, that is, Ralph and I. We were watching T.V when the door knocked. I got up, it was Adam." She trembled.

Connor left the room.

"H-He wanted to come in, we had fought the other day, I didn't want to see him. I told him no… we… argued, he accused me of cheating on him with Ralph.." she looked over as Connor walked back in with a mug of coffee. She smiled at him and nodded in thanks as he passed her the warm drink. "He said, awful things…" she shook her head. "called me a whore, said that I was shit… he said that Ralph was a piece of plastic who should have been melted… he said some more awful things that I don't remember."

She took some of her drink before continuing. "He then stared to push me," she pulled her jacket open, then pulled down her shirt to reveal bruising on her collar bone. She then took her jacket off, her short sleeve shirt did nothing to hide the bruising on her arms. "Ralph stepped in, pushed Adam away and took me into the apartment…Adam hit the door for a bit, then left."

She shakily drank more her drink. "Ralph took care of me, he did not hurt Adam…" she looked up at Hank with wet eyes. "Can I see him? Please?"

Hank rose from the chair and walked over to Claire. He extended a hand to her and helped her stand. "Go sit in our break room, have something to eat. I'll get someone to look at your injuries." He led her towards the door. "We'll get you to him as soon as we can."

X

"What do you think, Hank?" Connor asked as they sat at their desk.

"We've got a witness." Hank said simply. "If we don't get the hospital report soon, I'll send them home." He started to type at his terminal when Chris came walking to their desks.

"Sir?" he gained their attention. "We've got the hospital report." He passed Hank a piece of paper.

Hank scanned the paper for a few moments before he leaned back in his chair. A light chuckle escaped his lips. He dropped the paper on his desk and crossed his arms in amusement. "Well, let him out." Chris nodded and walked off to fulfil the order.

Connor tilted his head questioningly. "Asshole did it to himself." Hank said simply.

"Some people are real pieces of work, aren't they Lieutenant?" Adrian asked as he walked to the desk.

Hank went to respond when a loud shriek of "Ralph!" echoed through the DPD. They watched as Claire sprinted out of the break room. Arms open she flung herself at him with enough force to make him take a step back. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face into his chest.

"I was so worried!" she cried. "Are you alright? You weren't hurt?"

Ralph returned the embrace. "Ralph is fine." He pressed his face into her hair, his hand rose to stroke it. "Is Claire safe?"

Claire nuzzled against him before looking up at him. Her eyes were red from her tears. Her hands moved to hold his face. "I was so scared, I don't want to lose you Ralph…" her next action shocked those around her, including Ralph. She stood on her tip toes and pressed her lips against his.

Ralph stood, frozen in place for a few moments as he registered what was happening. Once his brain had caught up, he sprung into action. One hand clutched at the back of her head, while the other pulled her waist closer to him. He pushed his lips firmly against hers with a passion that some humans did not believe androids of possessing.

" _Oh wow_." Adrian leaned against Connor's desk as he watched the scene. He placed his hand against his chest and seemed to be swooning. He looked back at Connor. "How beautiful is _that_?"

Connor's eyes were wide as he watched the scene. He had been given the impression that the two of them cared for each other, but he had not imagined that it was to this degree. It made sense considering what he had observed of the two. He found himself in awe of the clear love between the two. His eyes moved up to Adrian who was watching him with a smile. A smile that seemed to say something to Connor, what he was unsure of.

"It is beautiful.." he replied to Adrian's words quietly.

Hank rose from his chair and walked up to the two. He clapped his hands at the pair. "Sorry to interrupt you to kids," Ralph and Claire pulled apart and looked at him. "Here's probably not the place for this," Hank grinned at them and Claire's face went red. "Do you want to press charges on that asshole who put you through this bullshit?"

Claire looked up at Ralph. "It's up to you, you're the one who was hurt by this."

Ralph placed a hand on Claire's shoulder. "Ralph just wants to go home with Claire."

Claire's eyes watered and she clutched the hand on her shoulder. "Let's go home Ralph."

XXX

" _And it is with these images that we are shown that relationships between Androids and Humans are improving…"_

"Who the fuck sent these to the news!?" Hank yelled, pointing to the television. Pictures of Ralph and Claire's embrace flashed in front of them. "I'm going to find them and stick their badge up their arse! Fucking asshole!"

"At least the news is reporting it as a good thing, rather than showing it in a negative light?" Connor replied from his spot beside Hank on the sofa. He reached down to pat Sumo who was sitting at his feet.

"Bah!" Hank grumbled, he crossed his arms and pouted. "paparazzi dick heads." He eyed the images on the television. "They really seem to love each other, don't they?"

Connor kept his eyes fixed on the images. "They do. It is… amazing that humans and Androids are developing bonds like this. I find it interesting though, what we saw today was a confession. The start of their relationship. How did they go so long without telling the other?"

Hank let out a laugh. Connor looked at him quizzically. "Sometimes you don't know Connor." Hank explained. "You can be friends with someone for years and never know how much they mean to you until their gone. It's personal, you need to realise how much they mean to you." He eyed Connor who seemed to be staring at nothing, his LED flashing yellow. He chuckled. "You'll work it out son," he rose from the couch and patted Connor's back. "the answer's right there, in front of your face."

XXX

Ralph helped Claire as she pulled off her top. "Are you okay?" he asked as she gasped in pain.

They were standing in Claire's bedroom. It was a fairly simple room, white walls, a queen bed with grey quilt set. Mirrored doors on the sliding wardrobes and some photos hanging on the walls. Claire threw her shirt into the black basket in the corner of her room. She touched the bruising on her shoulder and looked up at Ralph with wet eyes.

"I'm okay." She nodded. "I'm okay." She reached up and touched his cheek. "I love you Ralph. Thank you, for everything."

Ralph shook at her confession. He turned his head and kissed the hand on his cheek. "I love you too Claire."

Claire ran a hand through his hair. She then gripped his hands and led him towards the bed. she sat on the edge and slid back. If Ralph could breathe, the air would have left his lungs at the sight of her. "A-Are you sure?" he asked shakily.

She smiled at him.

XXX

"Hank," Connor began while looking over at Adrian who was standing by his car. "I'll be with you soon." He went off course and started to walk towards Adrian.

Hank eyes Connor and saw where he was going. "Connor, I'll go get the car." he said and walked off to the other side of the carpark.

"Hello Adrian." Connor greeted as he reached the Detective.

Adrian smiled and pushed himself off of his car. "Hey Connor, what's up?"

"Can I ask you a personal question, Adrian?" there was a pensive expression on his face that Adrian instantly took notice of.

Adrian raised a brow. "Sure, anything Connor."

"You told me that you were in love with someone else, and that's why your relationship failed. When did you know that you were in love with someone else?" he waited expectantly.

Adrian sighed and scratched his head. He kicked his cars tyre with his heel. He then pulled on his sleeve and looked up at the sky. He let out a shaky breath. "How long have we known each other Connor?" he asked, he looked down and locked eyes with the android.

Connor frowned. Why would Adrian ask that? "We have known each other for, three years, three months, five hours and three minutes."

Adrian let out a laugh. "Trust you to be exact." He mumbled, he sighed. "I was in love with this person for three years, three months, five hours and three minutes." He did not move his eyes from Connor's. "My relationship, or any that I have from now, won't work because I am completely, utterly, unstoppably in love. With you, Connor."


	7. Chapter 7

After It All

"So, you and Markus have sorted your problems?" Simon looked up to see North standing in front of him. He was sitting on the grass in the garden outside their 'New Jericho'.

He smiled lightly. "We have… been talking." He said carefully.

North snorted and sat beside him. She ran her fingers through the grass before she flopped back onto the grass. She let out a content sigh and closed her eyes to block out the sunlight. Simon went back to what he had been doing, watching. He watched as other androids toiled in the garden, some of the children played and other androids who were simply enjoying each other's company.

"I'm glad…" North began slowly, gaining Simon's attention. "I'm glad that you worked it out. He was so worried about you." She rolled onto his side and locked eyes with him. "We were so sick of his moping while you were gone."

Simon laughed, and were he capable, he would have blushed. "I was jealous." He said simply. "I saw you and him together, and I just hated it." He shook his head. "I hated it, I even hate you for a time." He shook his head. "I'm sorry North, I let anger nearly destroy me. Destroy any chances of happiness with Markus.."

A ball hit his head and he blinked in shock. His eyes shot to North who was grinning at him. "Get over it!" she picked the ball up and bounced it in her hands. "You make Markus happy, that's all I care about." She pulled herself up to stand, her eyes pinned him with a cold look. "You hurt him though, it'll be more than a ball!" she winked at him and walked away.

Simon watched her retreating back with a small smile. "She means it, you know." Simon looked back to see Markus watching him.

"I'm sure that she does." Simon replied as Markus moved to sit beside him.

Markus took a hold of Simon's chin and leaned forward to place a kiss on his lips. Simon leaned into the kiss, a low whine escaped his mouth as Markus pulled away. He sent Markus a pout, which the other laughed in response to. Frowning, Simon flopped back onto the grass. Markus leaned on his side beside him and ran his fingers through the others hair. He then leaned down to place another kiss on Simon's lips. Simon smiled in contentment and tugged Markus down to deepen the embrace.

XXX

Three days. Connor sent a quick look to Adrian who was typing at his computer. It had been three days since Adrian had last talked to him. Three days since the detective had confessed his feelings for Connor. Three days.. and Connor had never felt more confused. He wished that he could talk to the Detective, but it seemed that Adrian had been doing everything in his power to avoid Connor. He had even stopped bringing him little gifts when he went out to get coffee. He eyed the detective again. He was going to talk to him today, somehow, he would watch Adrian and wait for his opportunity. It would happen. It had to.

"Okay Connor." Hank's voice snapped him from his thoughts. He turned to see Hank watching him with a raised brow and crossed arms.

"Yes, Hank?" he asked with a tilt of his head.

"What the fuck is going on?" he asked, he nodded his head to Adrian. "The fuck happened with your boyfriend?"

Connor looked down at his desk.

 _Adrian let out a laugh. "Trust you to be exact." He mumbled, he sighed. "I was in love with this person for three years, three months, five hours and three minutes." He did not move his eyes from Connor's. "My relationship, or any that I have from now, won't work because I am completely, utterly, unstoppably in love. With you, Connor."_

 _Connor froze at the words. He had never been told anything like that in his existence. To hear such words, directed at him… he had no idea how to process what was happening. What did he say back? Did he 'thank' Adrian. No, he frowned, that did not feel right, tanking Adrian felt wrong. It felt like the wrong answer. Then what? Did he love Adrian? He honestly did not know, he had never felt or experienced that kind of love._

" _I'm sorry that I…" Adrian said softly, he tugged at his sleeve. "I'm sorry Connor." Thinking that Connor's silence was rejection, the detective climbed into his car and drove off. It was only as his car took off, that Connor realised what was happening. He watched the car pull away with a small frown._

"I made a mistake, Hank." He looked up at Hank with sad eyes.

"Connor.." Hank frowned.

XXX

Claire snuggled her face into her pillow as she woke. She let out a groan and pulled the covers closer around her. She reached over to feel for Ralph. When her hand was met with just her blankets, her eyes snapped open. She groaned and her body protested as she pushed herself up. It had been days since the event in the police station and the wounds on her body had been aching since her adrenaline had worn off.

She looked around the room. Her eyes softened as she saw her clothes folded and placed at the end of her bed. Ralph's clothes were gone. Perhaps he was tending to his garden? She pulled herself out of her bed and went about dressing in what Ralph had picked out for her. A pink long sleeved top and some jeans. She smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror, Ralph seemed to like pinks on her. She pulled her hair up into a bun and left the bedroom.

She looked around the house with confusion on her face. There was no sign of Ralph. Where had he gone? She walked into the living room, the kitchen, no Ralph. She then looked out onto her balcony, where his garden was, no Ralph. She frowned. Where was he? It was then that she noticed something written on her refrigerators whiteboard. _Ralph is getting milk._ She laughed at her own silliness for worrying and went about making herself some toast.

While she was spreading some jam on her toast she heard the sound of her doorbell ringing. She sighed, she just wanted to eat her toast. She put the toast down and walked to the door. Opening it she was met with the sight of;

"Mother?" she said stunned.

A short, portly woman in a red sweatsuit pushed into the apartment. "Where is it?" the woman snapped, her long blonde curls bouncing as she strutted through the living room.

Claire closed the door behind her. she was completely confused by her mother's antics. "Where is what?" she asked, following after her mother.

Her mother turned to her, her green eyes sharp and volatile. "I raise a beautiful, smart little girl," she began and Claire instantly recognised the 'guilt' voice. "A little girl who I love with all my heart, who I _thought_ was a nice, honest girl. Instead I find that I've raised a little hussy who enjoys _relations_ with Androids!"

 _Well shit._ Claire frowned. Apparently, the photos from the news had made their way to her mother in San Diego. "Mother." She began.

"Don't you mother me." Her mother snapped. "You had a nice, wonderful boyfriend, and now I hear that you're shaking up with a piece of plastic!" her arms flailed in her excitement.

"His name is Ralph!" Claire snapped back. Of all of the days possibilities, fighting with her mother was not something that she had wanted to do. She would though, Ralph deserved her sticking up for him. "Adam was an ass who doesn't deserve a lick of love!"

Her mother staggered back, as though she had been struck. Claire resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the antics. She was over it. She had had too much bullshit in her life. She just wanted a few days, months… possibly years, of living in peace. Preferably naked, in bed, with Ralph. She watched as her mother sat at the table.

"Mother, is this necessary?" she asked, crossing her arms in annoyance.

XXX

Connor watched as Adrian walked past and headed to the break room. Now was his chance! Perhaps they could have a conversation, or at least share a few words. He rose from his chair and followed after the detective. Upon entering the break room, he spotted Adrian talking to… Detective Reed. He frowned, he did not want a confrontation with Gavin today, but he wanted, _no needed_ , to talk to Adrian. He stepped forwards.

"Excuse me, Detective Archer."

Adrian turned from Gavin and eyed Connor with distant eyes. It sent chills through Connor, never had Adrian pinned him with eyes like those. Adrian's eyes had always been full of live, happiness and… now that he knew what it was, love… he had to try to fix the problem between them.

"Fuck off Plastic Prick." Gavin snapped, turning to look at him.

Connor tilted his head. "I'm sorry that my presence offends you, I merely want to speak to Detective Archer." He tried to placate Gavin. The pair had been nothing but tense with each other since Connor had beaten Gavin in the evidence room.

Gavin let out a 'tsk', he raised a fist and shoved Connor's shoulder. "Learn to obey humans you fucking-" he was cut off, quite literally by a fist connecting with his nose. Connor, and several of the other officers, watched with wide eyes as Adrian held his fist.

"Leave him alone." Adrian's voice was low, dangerous.

Gavin staggered back and held his bloodied nose. "What the fuck!?" he shouted. "Fucking prick!" he then lunged at Adrian. Fists flew as the pair began a tangle of limbs, blood and shouting.

Connor looked around for ways to stop the violence. In his search he noticed that Hank had gotten up from his desk and was watching the scene with, an amused smile? He frowned, how was this funny? His quest for a way to stop the fight, was solved by Captain Fowler walking out of his office with a shout.

"That's enough!"

Gavin and Adrian instantly pulled apart, they held their injuries and panted.

"Get your asses in my office!" when Gavin looked like he was going to protest, Fowler raised a finger. "Did I fucking stutter!? Now!"

XXX

"It's disgusting Claire." Her mother said from her spot at the table. Claire was standing, leaning against the wall of the kitchen. "How do you even have sex with it? Androids weren't designed for that. It's unnatural."

"Kamski was a perv mum!" she snapped. "You'd know that if you ever met the man. All androids. _All androids._ Were built with sex capabilities. It just… doesn't come out until it's… _needed_." She felt her cheeks redden. She had been an engineer when she worked at cyberlife, she knew mechanically how they worked, but there was something about talking about _this_ with her mother that was just too much for her.

Her mother pulled a face. " _Comes out when it's needed!?_ This is disgusting! An affront of god!"

The door to the apartment opened and Ralph walked in carrying a bag of groceries he started to walk towards her. "Claire! Ralph brought milk, and bread and-" he paused at the sight of her mother. "Who is this?"

Claire pointed. "Ralph, this is my mother, mother, this is Ralph." She closed her eyes and awaited the impending confrontation.

Ralph moved and placed the bags on the counter. He then turned to face Claire's mother. He held out a hand to her. "Ralph is happy to meet Claire's mother." His eyes widened as she slapped his hand away.

"Don't you touch me, you filthy piece of plastic!" she glared at him. The hate in her eyes evident.

"You need to leave." Claire took one look at the hurt in Ralph's eyes and the words let her mouth. She moved to stand beside Ralph. She held his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Her smile widened when he squeezed it back.

"You're going to throw me out! Your own mother? For this machine?" her mother rose from the chair and glared at the two of them.

"I love you mother." Claire said firmly. "But I love Ralph too and his feelings, at the moment are much more important that yours."

"What is this?" her mother flailed her hand. "Childish rebellion? You're twenty-six for gods sake!"

Claire held Ralph's hand tighter. "This is nor a rebellion. I love Ralph, I'd marry him, not just to spite you, but because I love him. You need to get out!" Claire watched her mother storm from the apartment. Her body shook with anger. How dare she. _How Dare she_. How dare she.

"Claire, Marry Ralph?"

Claire felt her heart stop. She slowly looked beside her. Her green eyes locking with his warm brown. "I'm sorry if that made you umcomf-" she was cut off by his mouth. She let out a moan and responded happily.

XXX

"Poor kid got suspended for a week," Hank said from his spot on the sofa. He let out a chuckle. "Gavin, the cock head, got three." Hank scratched Sumo's head and continued to watch the news.

Connor, who was sitting beside Hank, remained silent. His eyes were staring at the television but he was not paying attention to anything that was on the screen. No, his mind was on the events of earlier today. Just what had happened? He had seen it, Adrian had socked Gavin. Which, while it had been amazing to watch, confused Connor. Why had he done it? Adrian had said; _'leave him alone'_ , had Adrian been defending Connor? He rubbed Sumo's back while he continued to ponder what had happened.

"Welp, Connor," Hank pulled himself from the chair. "I'm going to go get a burger, I'll be back later."

Connor looked up at Hank. "Hank, you shouldn't drive after consuming the amount of alcohol you've had. I can drive you."

Hank waved him off. "It's fine Connor, I'll walk." Had Connor not been so distracted, he would have immediately suspected something. "It's around the corner, I'll be quick." He waved at the android and left.

Connor remained on the chair and continued to pat Sumo for fifteen minutes, before the sound of the doorbell caused him to pull himself up from the chair. Sumo let out a bark but did not move from his warm spot on the sofa. He walked to the door and opened it, he froze when he saw who was standing there.

"Hey Connor," Adrian scratched at his sleeve. "Lieutenant Anderson told me to come, something to do with my suspension. Is he here?" he looked around as if waiting for Hank to appear.

Connor frowned, his eyebrows creased. "I'm sorry, Hank has gone to get a burger, he'll be back soon though." He gestured inside. "Would you like to come in?"

Adrian smiled lightly. Connor watched with keep eyes as he flinched at the movement, most likely from the pain in his black eye. Adrian walked into the house and Connor offered for him to sit on the sofa. Adrian nodded and Connor sat beside him. The two of them watched the television in silence for five minutes.

"I am sorry about the suspension." Connor said.

Adrian let out a breath of laugh. "I'm not, Gavin's a prick."

Ten more minutes…

"He should be back soon." Connor reassured.

Thirty minutes later…

"I don't think he's coming back." Adrian commented and leaned his jaw in his palm.

Five more minutes…

"Adrian…" Connor looked over at Adrian, almost hesitantly. Adrian looked at him with a raised brow. "Can I ask you a question?"

Adrian sighed. "Well I think that the Lieutenant's either played your wingman and set this whole thing up, or he's drunk and forgotten. Knowing the Lieutenant, it could be either. So, why not? Ask away." He gestured with his hands for Connor to proceed.

"You said that you loved me, did you mean it?" Connor had been planning these words for days, but he still felt surprised when they left his mouth.

Adrian closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. When he opened them again, he looked into Connor's eyes. "I do, I don't think I could ever stop."

"Adrian.." Connor began. "May I kiss you?"

Adrian's eyes widened and he gave a shaky nod. Connor reached forward and placed his palms on each of Adrian's cheeks. He slowly inched forwards, he could feel himself and Adrian trembling. Before he could second guess himself, he pressed his lips against the detectives.

He was completely unprepared for the flurry of emotions that took him. It was pure, innocent, yet full of a passion that he did not even know that he possessed. He felt Adrian open his mouth and he slid his tongue in to explore the feeling. He switched off the analysis program that flashed and simply focused on the feeling of Adrian. Then Adrian let out a moan. It was the most beautiful sound that Connor had ever heard. His hand slid up to clutch at the back of Adrian's head. He clenched his fingers in the other's hair and the sound that slipped from the human's lips only encouraged him further. He wanted, no, _needed_ , more. He moved to push forward only to jump as Sumo let out a whine. Their eyes shot open. They had apparently forgotten the dog.

They looked down at Sumo who looked as though he had no intention of moving away. Adrian let out a laugh. "Silly boy." He ruffled Sumo's ears. He then looked at Connor. His eyes darkened. "Is there somewhere that we could go to continue this?"

Connor held his hand out to Adrian who gladly accepted it. He smiled at the detective, he did not know if what he felt for Adrian was love, but he was excited to explore, and find out. "There is." He led Adrian to his room.

A/N: I hope that you liked the chapter, let me know! :)


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I had to up the rating for this chapter. I hope you enjoy, if you don't like smut, I've marked the smuttiness in the Asterix's. Enjoy!

After It All

 **XSmutX**

Connor led Adrian into his bedroom. He said a good night to Sumo and closed the door behind him. He turned and found Adrian looking through his bedroom. It gave Connor a moment to reflect on the situation, he had Adrian, _Adrian_ , in his bedroom and they were about to engage in sexual activities. He watched as Adrian touched the black sheets of his bed. Connor never really used the bed, he didn't need to. He usually laid on it when he went into stasis, or when he read, he had never really appreciated the bed, he did now.

Adrian sat on the bed and looked up at Connor with dark eyes. "Your room is pretty empty Connor," he looked at the bare walls before his eyes moved back to Connor's. "it needs some… love." He winked.

Connor returned the smile and stepped forwards. He bent down and placed his palms on Adrian's cheeks. He the pressed his lips against Adrian's gently, questioningly. Adrian closed his eyes and responded instantly, one hand moved to rest on Connor's, and the other lifted to Connor's hair, tangling in the locks. Connor moved closer to Adrian, his hands slid down to his neck and Connor noted that as he touched Adrian's neck, Adrian's heartrate spiked. Connor raised a brow and applied the slightest pressure against the neck. Adrian's reaction was instant, and fascinating.

" _oh fuck._ " Adrian moaned throwing his head back. " _Connor,_ " he looked at the android with lidded eyes. " _Harder._ "

Connor's brow raised higher. He released Adrian's neck, causing the other to whine. He pressed his hands to Adrian's chest. "This needs to be removed." He said firmly. He noted another heart rate spike.

"Who knew you were so commanding…" Adrian smirked and pulled his shirt off, he flung it onto the floor. "I'll pick it up later." He said when he noted the expression on Connor's face. "Now," he grinned. "I'm shirtless, but what about you?"

Connor stepped back and made to undo his tie. Adrian rose from the bed and pushed away Connor's hands. "Let me…" he murmured. Connor's LED flashed yellow as he was hit with the sheer intimacy of the act. Adrian was slow, careful as he slid the tie from Connor's neck, he tossed the tie away and it landed somewhere on the floor. He then began to undo the buttons of Connor's white shirt. Connor felt something, a tremor, run through his body as the long fingers undid the buttons.

Connor suddenly shivered and his LED flashed as Adrian's hands slid the shirt open and his fingers met with Connor's skin. Adrian's hands gently stroked his pectorals as they slid up to his shoulders. Connor had trouble processing the emotions that rushed through his systems as Adrian slid the shirt off him. It fell to the floor to a gentle thud.

"You…" Adrian began in awe. "…you are perfect." His eyes scanned the bare chest before him. His eyes then locked with Connor's. "May I?"

When Connor nodded, Adrian's hands reached for Connor. One moved to stroke his abdomen, while the other slid up to rest between the android's neck and shoulder. Adrian leaned forward, his lips connected with Connor's neck. Connor's eyes widened and he felt _something_ thump within him, he closed his eyes at the sensation. Adrian's lips sucked on Connor's neck before moving downwards. His hand followed the lips downwards, across Connor's chest and down to his abdomen. Connor's eyes snapped open as he felt those exploring hands reach his belt. He looked down at Adrian who was looking up at him, his lips still connected to his abdomen.

Connor had never felt such a way before, and he never thought that he would be in this position, he never thought that a human, or even another android, would want to be with him this way. His eye contact with Adrian was maintained while the human slowly undid the belt and slid it away. He continued to watch as Adrian undid his pants and slid them down.

"Connor…" Adrian's hands moved to rest on the android's thighs. He eyed the member in front of him. He glanced up one last time for permission, when he had it, he leaned forwards, his lips covering the tip.

Connor felt his eyes slide shut. His LED flashed yellow at the sensation. It was _incredible_. He never, _never_ , thought that he would feel like this. His body shook as the sensations took him. He reached down and touched Adrian's hair, he wanted to thank him. Then it happened. Adrian took the whole member into his mouth and sucked. Connor let out a sound, whether it was a gasp or a moan, he did not know, but he made it. His fingers in Adrian's hair tightened as the mouth around him began to move.

"Adrian.." his voice was quiet, almost foreign to him. He felt Adrian smile and he sped up his strokes, the hands on his thighs began to gently massage the area. Connor's mouth hung open as Adrian's tongue swirled as his mouth moved up and down. Connor never thought that it would feel like this. It was perfect, no better than perfect.

"Adrian…" he tugged on the others hair and Adrian pulled back. Connor bent lightly and placed his hand on the other's chin to gently guide him to stand. He placed his lips against the other's. "Thank you.." he said quietly.

Adrian reached down and wrapped his fingers around it and gave a gentle tug. "Anytime." He grinned and kissed Connor again.

Connor placed his hands on Adrian's shoulders and gently pushed him towards the bed. Adrian sat on the bed and watched as Connor gently pulled his track pants off. He watched as Connor looked at him. "Like what you see?" he teased.

Connor tilted his head at the sight of Adrian's lithe body. They were similar, but different. He reached down and grasped Adrian, causing the human to let out a hiss and tilt his head back. "Fuck Connor…" Connor eyed Adrian's reaction before he knelt down. He imitated Adrian's action, his lips wrapping around the tip. Adrian's back arched and he let out a moan. He needed to hear more, he needed more. He wanted Adrian to react more. He moved his moth forwards and engulfed the shaft.

" _F-fuck!_ " he felt himself smiling at the sounds that Adrian was making. He moved his head and tongue. He felt Adrian's hands fly to his hair and grip the locks tightly, and his hips twitched. "A-are you okay with t-this Connor?" Adrian gasped and Connor hummed in response. The hum caused Adrian to let out a moan.

Connor _loved_ the sounds coming from the human. He wanted to hear all of the sounds that Adrian could make. He sped up his movements and began to suck. Adrian cried out and the fingers in his hair tightened. Were he human, it may have hurt, it did a little, but it only made him increase his strokes.

"C-Connor…" Adrian gasped. "Connor, you need to stop…"

Connor pulled away instantly. His eyes were wide and he watched as Adrian pulled himself up to sit. Adrian saw the expression on his face and he smiled warmly. His hands moved to cup Connor's face. "I want to finish with you…" he kissed the android. "Please."

Connor smiled.

X

Connor watched the human as he slept. Adrian was wrapped around him as though Connor were some kind of teddy bear. His arms clutched around the android's chest and his legs twisted around Connor. He smiled at the human. The events of last night had been… _perfect_. Perfect was the only way that he could describe it. He had learned so much about his own body and Adrian's. He had loved it, he wanted more. From what he had gathered, Adrian would be amiable to more as well. He reached up to stroke Adrian's hair, his fingers ran through the short locks. Adrian was a treasure, he had been agreeable to _all_ of the ideas that Connor had wanted to try. Connor's eyes shifted to his belt that now rested beside the bed, his lips twitched into a smile. Last night had been an event that he would be more than happy to repeat.

Adrian made a sound in his sleep and pushed himself against Connor. Connor smiled, it seemed that he was not the only one who wanted a repeat session. "Good morning." Adrian's lips pressed against Connor's neck.

"Good morning Adrian." Connor looked down, his eyes locked with Adrian's.

Adrian leaned up to kiss him. Connor returned the kiss, the fingers in Adrian's hair tightened and he pulled Adrian up to intensify the kiss. Adrian moaned his legs moved and he climbed onto Connor's lap. " _Good morning._ " Adrian reached down to clutch at Connor. Connor's hips twitched at the feeling. Connor watched as the human above him lowered himself onto Connor, he closed his eyes as the warmth engulfed him.

Adrian clutched at Connor's shoulders and let out a hiss that turned into a moan. He paused for a few moments before he began to move, slowly at first, then he picked up speed. Connor grasped Adrian's hips as the human rode him. He let out a sound as he body began to tremble, he heard Adrian let out a cry and go still. At the same time Connor felt an explosion in his systems, his body twitched and went still as he was wracked with the feeling. From last night he knew it to be an orgasm, it was incredible.

Adrian collapsed onto his chest and let out a shaky breath. "Good morning."

Connor kissed the head under his chin. "Good morning."

 **X Smut ended X**

Connor felt himself humming while he made coffee. He looked over at Sumo who was sitting beside him, probably waiting for food. So while he waited for the coffee machine, he fed the dog. When he had finished serving the food, he went back to the machine to pour some coffee. He placed the coffee on the table and sat at the table and waited for Adrian to finish showering.

"Do you think the Lieutenant ever got back?" Connor looked up to see Adrian walk in. He rubbed a towel through his hair.

Connor eyed Adrian, he found himself liking the sight of him with messed up hair. "Considering how _loud_ you were last night, if he did, he certainly knew what we were up to."

Adrian flushed. "Did you just make a joke?" he flushed further as Connor let out a chuckle. He sat at the table with a pout and reached for the coffee. "Is this for me?" When Connor nodded he said a 'thanks' and started to drink. He then paused and looked up at Connor. "What are we now Connor?"

Connor tilted his head. "What do you want us to be?" he felt something inside him go cold at the question.

Adrian looked away shyly. "Well… I never thought that I would end up in this situation with you- I wished, but never believed that it would happen." He let out a shaky breath and looked up at Connor. "I don't want to force you into anything, I will take whatever you give me- I won't lie though, I do want to be with you."

The cold chill that Connor had felt disappeared. "I would like to explore a relationship with you." Connor smiled, a smile that Adrian returned.

"Good morning Connor." Connor and Adrian froze as Hank walked into the kitchen. He passed the two at the table and headed to the refrigerator. "Morning Adrian."

Adrian clutched at his mug tightly. "G-Good morning Lieutenant…"

"Good morning Hank." Connor said. "How was your burger?"

"What burger?" Hank said while he looked through the fridge, he let out a tsk as he realised that he was going to have to cook. He pulled out some bacon and eggs.

Adrian felt his lips tighten. "The burger that you went out for last night." Connor replied.

Hank was silent for a few moments while he pulled out a fry pan and some oil from the cupboards. "Oh… oh yeah! That burger! It was good!" he poured the oil onto the pan and lit the stovetop. He then went about making the bacon and eggs. "What about you Connor, Adrian, _how was your evening?_ "

"It was _quite agreeable._ " Connor replied.

Adrian chocked on his drink.

XXX

"Where are we going?" Connor asked. He was sitting in the passenger seat of Adrian's car. Adrian had decided to take him out on a date, but he had refused to tell him _where_ they were going.

"You'll see." Adrian smiled as he pulled into the car park of a building. The two climbed out of the car and walked to the building. Connor scanned the building's logo and was filled with information about the company.

"We're going ice skating?" he asked.

Adrian nodded and smiled. "I thought really hard about what we could do, you can't eat, so this seemed like a good idea." They walked into the building. "Are you ready for it?"

Connor nodded. He had never skated, but he would give it a try.

X

"How was your date?" Hank asked, they were sitting on the sofa together.

"It was nice." Connor replied. "I had never skated before, it was a good experience."

Hank nodded and took a sip of his beer. He rose from the chair and turned off the television. He stepped to his record collection and pulled out a record. "Music?" he called out to Connor.

"Sure!" Connor replied.

As the sound of Jazz filled the room Connor found himself eyeing Hank. Was something wrong? When Hank sat back down beside him, he decided to ask. "Are you alright?"

Hank eyed Connor before nodding. He wrapped an arm around the android. "I'm fine Connor." He ruffled Connor's hair, and Connor found himself wondering how much beer Hank had had before he had come home. "I'm proud of you Connor."

Connor's eyes widened. "Hank…"

"Gah!" Hank exclaimed. "Enough with this! Let's enjoy the tunes and the beer!"

Connor, while a little confused, nodded none the less.

"You'll like this one Connor!" Hank said as the song changed.

A/N: A short one today, I hope that you enjoyed it!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: A new chapter, hope you enjoy!

After It All

Claire pushed his pastel pink hair out of her eyes. She turned her head around as she inspected her dying job in the bathroom vanity. She nodded at her handywork and hoped that Ralph liked it, he seemed to like her wearing pink, so she had that going for her. She gave her hair one last rub with the towel before throwing it into the wash basket. She then left the bathroom to find Ralph, she found him out on the balcony tending to the garden.

"Hey Ralph." She said as she slid the door open.

Ralf looked up from the fuchsia that he was pruning, his mouth hung open as he took in the sight of her. She found herself looking away uncomfortably, did he not like it. She froze as his fingers touched the pink locks. She looked up at him and found him rolling the hair in his fingers as he took in the sight of it, his eyes swept over her face and hair. His other hand put down his sectaries a and reached to her cheek.

"Why does Claire change her hair so frequently?"

Claire's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?" she asked.

Ralph continued to play with her hair. "When we met, when you saved me, you had brown hair, then you were blonde, now you've changed it to pink, why?" he tilted his eyes as he watched her.

"Well…" Claire began, thinking about her answer. "Brown is my natural colour, I went blonde when I was with Adam because he constantly talked about how much he liked blondes… and the pink.. well…" she looked away as her cheeks turned pink.

Ralph frowned at her, what was wrong? He stroked her cheek and lifted her face to meet his. "And pink?" he asked.

Claire licked her dry lips, an action which Ralph watched. "…and I picked pink, because of you, you always like me wearing pink, so when I decided to change my hair, I saw the colour box and thought 'why not?'" she fiddled with her fingers nervously as she talked.

"Ralph does like the colour, it suits Claire." He stroked her cheek before he leaned forwards to kiss her lips. Claire leaned into the kiss and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Ralph likes it lots." He kissed down her neck and buried his face in the crook of her neck. Being a gardening model, his had an adequate sense of smell, so he inhaled her scent.

Claire pressed against him and let out a shaky breath. "Bedroom?" she let out a shriek of laughter as he lifted her. Her legs wound around his waist and her laughter filled the apartment as he ran her to the bedroom.

XXX

"Are you sure?" Simon asked with unease as they walked towards Carl's house.

Markus stopped walking and gave Simon a sidelong look. "Are you worried?"

Simon looked away embarrassed. "What if he doesn't like me?" he looked back when he heard Markus let out a chuckle. "What?"

Markus squeezed Simon's hand before wrapping an arm around his shoulders. His eyes glittered as he took amusement in what Simon had said. "You'll be fine." He reassured. "You make me smile, he'll love you just for that." He leaned down and kissed Simon on the forehead. "You do more than make me smile, you know?"

Simon felt a smile tug at his lips, he tilted his head and brushed his lips against Markus'. "I'm glad…" he said quietly. "…glad that I amuse you." He gave the lips another peck before moving back and straightening himself. "Let's meet your Dad."

Markus smiled and guided him to the front door. He rang the doorbell. He had access to the house, he could have just walked in, but he felt that, given what he was doing and who he had brought with him, that it would have been better for him to ring the doorbell. The door opened and the android aid gestured for them to come in.

"He's upstairs, I'll let him know that you're here." He walked to the stairs. "You can wait in the living room." With that said, he proceeded up the stairs to get Carl ready.

Markus put his hand on Simon's back and led him to the main room. He watched with a smile as Simon's eyes widened at the sight of the room. When Simon looked at them questioningly he nodded and watched softly as Simon began to walk around the room, taking in the sights of the objects around him. While Simon looked at the Giraffe, Markus found himself standing before the piano. Memories of playing it flashed through his mind. His fingers ghosted over the keys and before he could stop himself, he was sitting at the piano playing. His eyes closed as he pushed the keys, the soothing melody of his song filled his ears.

"You're playing has changed…" Markus' eyes opened and he saw Carl sitting in his chair, by the Piano, watching him intently. His eyes, quickly switched to Simon who was watching him with a wide-eyed expression. He looked back at Carl.

"Carl." Markus rose from the piano and held Carl's hand in greeting. "You're looking well, I'm glad." He smiled at Carl before he rose and looked at Simon. "I want you to meet Simon, Carl." He held a hand out to Simon who was frozen in place.

Carl looked over at Simon. "Oh! So this is the famous Simon." He looked back at his carer android. "Alan, can you please take me to Simon?" the android, Alan, nodded and pushed him to Simon who looked quite terrified, it was quite amusing to Markus. Carl stopped in front of Simon and he held a hand out to him. "Markus talks about you often, it's wonderful to meet you."

Simon slowly reached out and took the offered hand. "I am glad to meet you, Markus has told me about you- he really loves you."

Carl smiled. "I hope it's all good things," he placed his other hand atop of his and Simon's joined hands. "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you." He said warmly and squeezed the androids hand.

Simon felt his lips turned into a smile, and he squeezed the hand back.

XXX

"It looks like the victim was stabbed three times in the chest and another fifteen in the back." Connor commented as he kneeled beside the body of one, Michael Turner, aged forty. His body had been discovered by a concerned neighbour four hours earlier.

Hank crossed his arms and looked around the house. It was low class and had not been cleaned for what seemed to be years. Michael had been a hoarder, garbage and appliances filled the floors and walls, his body had managed to land in the one clear floorspace. "That's what it seems.." Hank looked around, his face twisted into a disgusted sneer. "fucking hoarders, it fucking stinks in here."

Connor placed his fingers on some dried blood on the floor, he brought his finger to his mouth and analysed the blood. Michael had been dead for four days, and there were elements of red ice in his blood.

"Oh for fucks sake Connor!" Hank snapped as he watched his partner. "Stop putting evidence in your fucking mouth!"

Connor looked out at Hank who looked uncomfortable with every aspect of the situation. He understood, he knew how Hank felt about people who lived in their own filth. "The victim has been dead for four days and had been taking red ice."

"You didn't need to taste the fucking evidence to see that!" Clearly the smell and perhaps the claustrophobia from the hoarding, was upsetting Hank. "You kiss Adrian with that mouth! Go wash yourself!" Hank snapped.

Connor tilted his head in confusion. "I have a cleaning and sterilisation program that I will run at the end of the investigation."

"Well go do it then." Hank responded, when Connor did not move he gestured with his hands. "Go! We'll work out how he died after."

 **XSmutX**

" _Fuck Connor!_ " Adrian gasped. He was on his hands and knees on his bed, around his neck was Connor's belt. The belt tightened as Connor pulled on it, Adrian saw stars. " _Yess.._ " he hissed.

Connor held onto Adrian's hip with one hand and the belt with the other while he maintained stable thrusts. Ever since their first night, he had developed a liking for the belt, and from the sounds that Adrian was making, he was not the only one who enjoyed the leather object. On their first night they had been gentle with the belt, light slaps, gentle wraps around the neck and the like, but now, now they were rough with it. It was actually Adrian who suggested that they use it more roughly, Connor had agreed to the suggestion. He loved the roughness. He loved the sounds that Adrian made as he was treated roughly, and he enjoyed being rough.

Adrian gasped and sped up his thrusts. His actions caused Adrian to cry out and reach down to touch himself. Connor smacked the human's thigh. " _No_." his voice was full of authority. He slapped the hand away and smacked the thigh again. He slowed his thrusts.

Adrian sobbed and grasped at the bed. "M-meanie…" he pouted.

Connor stopped. " _What?"_ He tugged on the belt.

Adrian let out a whimper and tried to move, Connor's hand held him firmly in place. "C-Connor…" he begged, his voice hoarse. "please Connor.. please." His voice was desperate.

Connor eyed the sight before him. Adrian was dripping with sweat, his body shaking as he heaved in breaths, his eyes were closed and he waited in anticipation for Connor's next movement. Connor enjoyed the sight of Adrian with the belt wrapped around his neck, he enjoyed having complete control of the human. He briefly wondered why he enjoyed the sight of a human bound in an almost slave position. He wondered what that meant for his own psyche, but he decided that it probably did not matter, he and Adrian enjoyed their positions. _Thoroughly enjoyed._

At Adrian's whimper, Connor was taken out of his thoughts. He gripped Adrian's hip tightly and angled his hips to the right position. "Hold on." He said firmly before thrusting with wild abandon. Adrian cried out at the angle change, his body shook at the pleasure that shot through him. Connor felt the tingle across his systems that indicated he was nearing his end, he continued to pound at the spot until he felt spasms wreak Adrian's body, it was at that moment that he finished. The two collapsing in a heap on the bed.

" _Holy fuck._ " Adrian gasped as he slid the belt from his neck. He turned to Connor who was lying behind him. He leaned to place a kiss on the androids lips. "You are amazing." He nuzzled himself into Connor's shoulder. "I love you so much…" he sighed.

Connor kissed into Adrian's hair and wrapped his arms around the human. He was not sure what he should say in response to Adrian's words. He knew that he loved doing everything that he did with Adrian, he loved spending time with him, but did he love him? He did not know, when he thought about love, he knew that he loved Hank, a father, he loved Sumo. But did he love Adrian? He was unsure, he knew that what he felt for him was different than anything he had ever felt for any other. He was snapped out of his thoughts when a finger tapped his nose.

"You have that 'thinking' face." Adrian smiled. "It's okay. You don't have to say it back, I understand Connor."

Connor tightened his hold on the human in his arms. Adrian was so understanding, he was struck with guilt. He felt guilty, Adrian did not deserve him. He did not deserve to not have his affections returned.

X

Adrian sat up from the bed before instantly flopping back into the softness. "Oh god…" he groaned, rubbing his neck. "I feel so raw…" his voice sounded raw as well, Connor noted. Connor watched with keen eyes as Adrian flinched as he touched his neck. He scanned the neck and saw the beginning of bruising, he frowned.

"I am sorry." He said quietly, guiltily.

Adrian raised a brow. "Sorry for what?"

Connor touched Adrian's neck softly. "I have caused you harm. I shall endeavour to not do this again."

Adrian's laughter caused him to frown. He eyed the human with confusion, had he gone mad? His LED flashed yellow. Adrian patted his cheek fondly. "Only you would apologise for that." At Connor's confusion he elaborated. "You gave me the best fuck of my life, so good that I can't walk or move. You rocked my world and now you're apologising?" he leaned up and kissed Connor's lips. "You are amazing Connor, I love you."

Connor cupped Adrian's cheek. "You are beautiful." He said simply before kissing him.

A/N: A short chapter for the weekend, I hope you liked it!


	10. Chapter 10

After It All

"This top is really cute!" Claire said holing up a grey top. She pushed it against Ralph's chest and looked him up and down. "I think that you would look really nice in it!" she pulled it off his chest and passed it to him to inspect.

Ralph looked down at the shirt, he did not have any preferences when it came to clothes, a long as they were comfortable and he was able to garden in them. He rubbed his fingers against the soft fabric. "Its… nice Claire…" he said giving her a smile. "Thank you."

Claire took the shirt and placed it into the basket. "Do you need anything else?" she looked around the store. "It's getting colder, maybe a new coat?" she started to walk away to look down the other isles.

"Claire," Ralph began, chasing after her. "Ralph does not require jumpers and jackets." He didn't know why he even bothered arguing with her. They did this every year.

Claire turned at him with a look. "I'm buying you clothes, Ralph." She cupped his face. "I want to make you feel special. Let me, please?" Ralph stared into her green doe eyes. How could anyone say no to that? He nodded in acquiesce.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Claire and Ralph turned to see a middle-aged woman and what appeared to be her five-year old standing before them.

"Yes?" Claire tilted her head in confusion, had they done something?

The woman smiled warmly at her. "Are you that lady from the news?" she asked, her question garnered the attention of some of the other customers in the store. "The one embracing the android?" she gestured to Ralph.

Claire felt her cheeks redden. "Yes." She said quietly and glanced up at Ralph quickly before looking back at the woman. "Yes, we are." She reached over with her free hand and touched Ralph's arm, reassuring him. She felt him relax.

The woman's broke into a bright smile, revealing her white teeth. "I am so happy for you both!" she said excitedly. "When I saw you both on the news, well, I was just so touched, the two of you are so beautiful together!" her voice pitched. "I'm so happy that I'm able to meet you, oh my!" she was practically swooning.

Some of the other patrons walked over to them. "My girlfriend started to cry when she saw the report." A man said. "She was so touched by how beautiful you both were."

"Are you going to get married?" a little girl asked.

Claire blushed and squeezed Ralph's arm. The poor android seemed completely out of his comfort zone. Her actions were noticed by the surrounding shoppers and they all seemed to let out a sigh of aww. She felt embarrassed, she did not think that this would be the sort of reception that she would receive from the general public. "Thank you, for your support everyone."

X

After they left the shop, Claire held his hand with one hand and the bags with her other. Ralph had offered to carry it but she had refused, saying that he wasn't her carry maid. She squeezed his hand and looked up at him. He was staring at seemingly nothing with a pensive expression and his LED flashing yellow. She squeezed his hand again.

"Are you okay, Ralph?" she asked.

Ralph paused mid step and looked down at her. "Ralph is not used to humans being… so accepting of me…" he frowned and lifted her hand to his lips. "Ralph… is glad, I love you Claire."

Claire moved his hand to her own lips. She was surprised at how well he was doing. They were standing on the sidewalk, having public affections and he had not had an anxiety attack. She wished that he knew how well he was doing. "I love you too, Ralph." She grinned at him.

"Now that's just fucking disgusting!"

X

Hank smiled as he eyed the burger on the table before him. It was big. It was juicy. It was meaty. It was glorious. He knew that Connor, who was sitting across from him at their booth, disapproved of his choice of meal, but he had been eating all of Connor's healthy meals all week! He needed this burger. He _deserved_ this burger.

"Hank, that burger contains over-"

"Oh, shut up Connor." Hank griped. God would have to have mercy on any soul that came between him and this burger. He placed his hands on the sides of the burger, it was _huge_ , he lifted it. It was going to be _amazing._

"Hank, we've got an assault happening outside!" Connor jumped from the booth.

"Are you fucking joking!?" Hank looked through the window and was met with the sight of a middle-aged Caucasian woman waving her arms wildly and hitting at an android. His eyes widened as he recognised it as Ralph, the android from the station. He swore again and dropped his burger. "Are we the only cops in Detroit!?" he all but shouted as he chased after Connor.

"Leave him alone!" Claire cried out as she tried to pull the woman away from Ralph. The woman called her a 'whore' and shoved her away, Claire fell back onto the sidewalk.

"Claire!" Ralph moved to go after her only to find a hand slap across his face.

"Detroit police!" Connor called out as he moved to the situation. The woman turned, her eyes were wild, he suspected red ice. "Ma'am you need to calm down!" he ordered.

The woman spat. "Fucking disgusting androids!" she lunged at him, her hand connected with his face. Blue blood splatted against the ground as her nail cut his face. Connor grabbed her arms and struggled to hold her as she flailed against him.

"Connor!" Hank ran into the scene. He took in the sight and sprung into action. He took the woman's arms and pulled them behind her, he then pulled her to the ground and handcuffed her. He held the woman down as she struggled and swore into the pavement. "Connor call a pick up for this."

"Right!" With blue blood running down his face, Connor called for backup his LED flashing as he did so. "They should be here soon." He eventually said before reaching up to rub at the blood on his face.

"You okay Connor?" Hank pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket. "Here." He held it out to the android.

Connor took the offered item and held it to his head. "It's just a scratch, it's bleeding so much because of where it is."

Claire pulled herself up from the sidewalk and looked at the two officers. "Thank you… for everything.." she paused as though remembering something. "Ralph!" she turned to see Ralph standing still, his eyes fixated on the side walk. She stepped closer to Ralph. "Ralph?" she leaned closer to him, he was entirely unresponsive. Panic ran through her, had the woman damaged him? She touched his cheek. "Ralph?"

Ralph's eyes snapped to her, tears began to stream down his face. His body began to shake. Claire's eyes widened and she reached out and touched his face, she wiped at the tears with her thumb. Her action snapped him out of his stupor and he reached out to her, his arms entangling her in a flurry of panic. He buried his face into her neck as he clutched at her.

"Are you okay?" she soothed, she tried to move her arms to hold him back but found herself unable, he was holding her that tightly. She instead remained still until she heard the sirens of the police car. She pulled back from Ralph and watched as two officers took the lady with them.

"Can you both come with us?" Hank addressed them. "Make a report and all that?" he eyed Ralph. "He okay?"

Claire looked back at Ralph and he nodded.

X

"Connor! Your face!" The worry was evident in Adrian's voice. He got up from his desk and ran to Connor who had just walked into the DPD. He stopped in front of the android. "What happened?"

Hank patted the android's shoulder. "Crazy lady, suspected red ice." He looked at Connor with a fond smile, but the concern was etched in his eyes. "Come on, lets get you patched up." He pulled Connor off to get his face looked at. He took two steps before he looked back at Adrian. "Could you take their statements?" he gestured to Claire and Ralph who were following behind him.

Adrian, while he would rather be helping Connor, nodded to the Lieutenant and went about getting a report.

XXX

Connor rose from the sofa at the sound of the doorbell. He had been waiting for Adrian, the two had plans to go see a movie, so he was quite surprised when he opened the door and found Simon standing at the door. What was he doing here? Had something happened?

The android lifted his hand in a wave. "Hello Connor."

Connor nodded and gestured for Simon to come inside. "Hello Simon." He closed the door. "How are you?"

Simon walked into the living room. "I've been well, thank you Connor." He turned to look at Connor, his eyes glittering with amusement. "I hear congratulations are in order." When Connor tilted his head in confusion, he elaborated. "On your relationship developments."

Connor frowned, _how_ had Simon heard about that? While he didn't know it, his answer came as Hank walked into the room from the hallway. "Simon!" he walked past them and into the kitchen. "You're early! I'll get the cards!"

At the look on Connor's face, Simon spoke. "Hank has invited me to play 'black jack' with him."

Connor remembered Hank saying that he had been talking with Simon, he had no idea that they had been planning to do things together, he found himself frowning, he was unsure why it made him feel _strange_. He was happy that Hank was socialising, it was good, Hank deserved to have a life outside of him and policework. Something just did not settle in him though.

"I hope that you have a good evening." Connor eventually said. It was in that moment that the doorbell rang again, that had to be Adrian. Connor moved to answer the door, his assumption was correct, and he found Adrian standing at the door, dressed in a black turtleneck and jeans.

"Hey Connor!" Adrian grinned and placed a kiss on the android's cheek.

"Hey no funny business in here!" Hank called out with a laugh.

"Fine then!" Adrian called back, he grabbed Connor and pulled him to his side. "I'll kidnap him and have my wicked way with him in the car!"

X

"That twist at the end!" Adrian gushed as they left the cinema. "I could not believe that he did that, to his wife and daughter! Those poor souls!"

"It was very sad," Connor agreed.

"And the poor girl! Her father figure completely went of the rails! I mean it was a little obvious what was going to happen, but it was awful! That poor girl, and her _brother_." Adrian continued to gush about the film.

Connor nodded and continued to walk beside his partner. Adrian stopped talking and eyed Connor, it did not take a scientist to tell that something was bothering him. He eyed Connor as they walked and when they reached the car, he leaned against the bonnet and crossed his arms. "Hey, what's going on? Something's wrong, I can tell."

Connor looked at Adrian. "I am sorry." He said quietly, he moved and sat beside Adrian on the bonnet. "I have not been completely giving you the attention you deserve… I am, distracted." he gestured helplessly.

Adrian reached over and grasped Connor's hand, he laced their fingers together and squeezed. "Hey." He nudged the other with his shoulder. "What's bothering you? I'm all ears." He nuzzled his shoulder against Connor's, he grinned when he saw the android's lips twitch upwards.

"It's just, Hank," Connor shrugged. "he is playing 'black jack' with Simon, I'm happy for Hank, he needs the friendship, but something, something feels wrong in me. I feel, ill when I think about it.. I'm not sure what that means…" He looked at Adrian with confused eyes when the human let out a laugh.

"I'm sorry," Adrian said. "I should not be laughing," he kissed Connor's fingers. "You're fine, you're just jealous." At the expression on Connor's face he continued. "Hank is like, your dad, you guys have had each other for over three years and now Hanks made friends with another android and is making plans with him, you're just feeling a little jealous, it's normal. Trust me."

Connor tilted his head and his LED flashed yellow as he pondered over Adrian's words, he was right. He was jealous, it was surprising to him, it was new, he had never felt it before. He glanced at Adrian and remembered the feeling that he had felt when he had learned about his old boyfriend, he _had_ felt jealous before, he just hadn't known what it was.

"Thank you, Adrian," Connor smiled. "thank you for listening to me."

Adrian grinned. "Anytime Connor."

X

When they returned to Hank's they were met with the sight of Sumo asleep on the sofa and Hank and Simon in the kitchen laughing as they swapped stories. "Connor!" Hank called as he saw them. "Come play! You too Adrian!"

Connor noted that Hank had consumed eight beers, pretty standard. "Alright." He pulled a chair and sat down.

"What are we playing Lieutenant?" Adrian asked as he took the seat between Hank and Simon. He watched as Simon shuffled the cards.

"Poker! Now Adrian," he leaned forward. "you're with Connor, I think that you can call me 'Hank'!" he chuckled and took a swig of his beer. Then passed one to the detective.

"T-thanks Lieu-Hank." Adrian stumbled over his words and opened the beer.

Simon passed out the cards and the four proceeded to play.

X

Connor carried Hank to his room, Simon had left some time earlier and Adrian was waiting in Connor's room, having had way too many beers for Connor to allow him to drive home. He opened Hank's bedroom door and guided him into his bed.

"Thank you, Connor." Hank smiled and pulled his shoes off. He then collapsed onto the mattress. "Hey Connor," he slurred. "I was good." He said softly. "It was good, playing poker with you- I can't believe that you lost! Had… had to be on purpose…"

Connor smiled and helped Hank pull the blanket over him. "I had fun too, and no, I did not lose on purpose, you are very good at the game Hank."

Hank laughed at his words. "Sure!" he pulled Connor down and hugged him, the android went still in confusion. "You're a good kid Connor. A good kid." Connor relaxed and returned the hug.

"You are a good person too, Hank." At the sound of Hank's snoring, he gently detached himself and placed a glass of water and two Advil on the bedside table. He then left the Lieutenant to sleep and went to his own room where he found Adrian attempting to pull off his turtleneck. He gave a wryly smile at the sight and went about helping Adrian remove his shirt.

"T-thanks." Adrian grinned and plopped onto Connor's bed.

Connor began to slip out of his own clothing and slipped into the bed beside Adrian, who turned and snuggled to his side. Connor gently stroked the detective's hair and neck, he took in the sight of the light bruising on the neck and frowned. Well that explained why he had been wearing the turtleneck. Knowing that the mark was from their activities, he leaned down and kissed the mark. He then went back to stroking his hair.

"Mmm…" Adrian snuggled closer. "Goodnight Connor… I love you."

"Goodnight Adrian."

XXX

Ralph walked into the apartment from the balcony. Claire was sitting on her couch with her laptop typing and scrolling furiously. She had been doing this for some hours now and Ralph was a little concerned, he wondered what was so interesting that she had put so much of her time and effort into it. He walked over to her and sat down beside her.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Claire sighed and snapped her laptop shut, she rubbed her temples with her fingers and groaned. "I'm looking at the android laws.." she pushed down on her temples. "It's so dry and boring and…" she trailed off with a groan.

Ralph reached over and began to massage her shoulders. Claire placed her laptop on the coffee table and turned so that he could have better access to her. "Why are you looking at the laws?"

Claire moaned at the sensation of his hands. "You guys are still treated like nothing, even after so many years. You can't even marry, Ralph." She sighed. "I want to do everything I can to better your laws… you deserve the same rights as us.."

"Markus has been fighting for our rights." Ralph replied evenly.

"Maybe I should talk to him then…" Claire mumbled.

A/N: I hope that you liked the chapter, let me know!


	11. Chapter 11

After It All

"Here you go Hank," Connor said with a smile as he placed a plate of food in front of him. Pasta carbonara. He stood back and waited expectantly as Hank took in the sight of his dinner.

"Thank you, Connor." He smiled. "It smells really good," he chuckled. "even Sumo thinks so." He nudged his shoulder in the direction of the dog, who was sitting next to Hank and was eyeing the food as though it were the greatest thing on the planet. He picked up his fork and tried the food.

Connor, were he human, would have felt his mouth go dry, he instead felt his systems twitch. He was worried that Hank wouldn't like it, that he cooking was terrible. He had followed the recipe to the letter so there was no reason for it to taste bad, but he was still worried. All these years of cooking for Hank, and he still worried about his cooking.

Hank let out a hum. "That is incredible Connor, fuck police work, go be a chef!" Connor felt a sense of relief and smiled as Hank ate the meal he cooked. He was proud of himself, he was not programmed to cook and all of his cooking escapades had been self-taught, to hear such praise from Hank made him feel special.

"You'll make Adrian a good wife one day." Hank commented as he finished a bite.

"That is not possible," Connor replied his voice deadpan serious. "Both Adrian and myself are male and androids cannot marry-"

"I didn't mean literally!" Hank interjected waving his hand. He took another bite of his food. "…why can't androids get married? What asshole decided that?" he said as an afterthought.

Connor paused as he scanned through appropriate responses. "We have some rights that are the same, but due to bureaucratic nonsense and in fighting within the government, laws are taking longer to pass than would be preferred."

"Pompous assholes." Hank grumbled into his food.

Connor agreed.

XXX

"Connor." The android looked up from his terminal, he turned to Hank at his desk.

"Yes, Hank?"

"You need to do something about your plant." Hank leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed.

Connor tilted his head in confusion. "What is wrong with it?"

"It's all over your fucking desk!" Hank waved his hand and gestured at Connor's desk. He had a point, Connor noted. Since the peace lily was a bulb, it did what bulbs did, spread. Connor had tackled the issue by simply putting the excess into new pots on his desk, but now, thanks to Hank pointing it out, he noted that there was no room on his desk. Not that he needed the space, he simply connected with the terminal rather than typed. But he could see the point.

"I'll take some home, to plant in the garden." He eventually replied.

"As long as they're gone," Hank griped. "Waste of space plant."

"No need to take it out of the plant, Hank." Connor chimed. "Just because you couldn't keep the bonsai alive…"

"…Shut up Connor."

XXX

"Hold on, just a little while longer…" Markus sang softly as his brush touched the canvas. He dapped in some spots before putting more paint on his brush.

Simon sat on the grass, beside Carl, who had come for a visit to 'New Jericho'. The older man had come with canvas' and paints, with the wish that Markus spend some time 'relaxing and expressing himself'. Simon looked over at the man, despite the fact that he was medically incapacitated, Carl seemed, happy in himself, happy to simply be there.

"His art is amazing." Carl commented, his eyes moving to Simon.

Simon nodded. "He is always able to express himself, be it art or his words." Simon trailed off as he thought of Markus. "He's truly wonderful.."

Carl let out a laugh. "Young love." At the expression on Simon's face he continued. "Don't be embarrassed! You're both clearly crazy about each other. I'm old, it warms my heart to see how happy you make my son." His eyes drifted to Markus. "I won't be here much longer, I'm glad that he'll be looked after…"

Simon frowned and lifted himself from the grass. "Don't say that." he said quietly. He glanced briefly at Markus, who was still painting happily, before looking back at Carl.

Carl shook his head. "Why? It's true." He pinned Simon with a look. "Just look after him for me?"

It took Simon a few moments to come to terms with the sheer force of emotion that hit him. "I will, I promise." He reached out and touched the elders hand. "I will do everything, give everything that I am to make him happy, I love him too much for any less." Their eyes linked and the promise, his words seemed to be absorbed. Carl was trusting him with an important job, and Simon would not let him down.

Carl nodded.

"What are you two talking about?" Markus asked as he slipped beside Simon on the grass, he wound an arm around Simon's waist and rested on the other. "Hm?" he rested his jaw on Simon's shoulder.

"I'm just drilling him." Carl answered, his eyes tingling with mirth. "Making sure that he's good enough for my boy."

"Oh?" Markus raised a brow. "How'd he do? did he pass?"

"He'll do." Carl winked at Simon. "He'll do."

XXX

Claire sat at the table, determination was set in her eyes. Beside her was Ralph, while across from her was the famous 'Markus' and three others; a woman and two men who had been introduced to her as 'Simon', 'Josh' and 'North'. It had taken her weeks, but she had finally been able to get a meeting with Markus, she was not going to waste this opportunity.

"So.." Markus leaned forwards, his elbows coming to rest on the table and he held his hands together. "You want to have rights for Androids made, so that we can marry, and adopt humans? Why?"

North snorted and Markus sent her a look. "What?" she gestured with her hands. "It's pretty obvious why," she pointed at Ralph. "She's that girl from the news, she probably wants to get married and have little babies with him."

"It's not about that!" Claire snapped defensively.

"North." Markus said coolly. "She has a right to give us her ideas, her reasons are her own."

North rolled her eyes but remained silent.

"This isn't about me." Claire insisted. "There is a massive population issue," Josh nodded in agreement to her words. "If androids could adopt, or have rights to look after human children, then it would ease the child protection strains."

"She's got a point." Josh injected. "The amount of children in foster homes, on the streets and in orphanages, in this and other counties, is staggering"

Claire nodded. "Also, what about those Androids who want families? Being able to adopt could really help everyone. Children are the future, it could really boost human and Android relations."

Markus nodded. "You make some good points, and Marriage?"

Claire felt all eyes on her, but it was Ralph's that made her face redden. "I-I, I want to help those who are in a relationship, one of the most awful things in the world would be wanting to marry, to _be_ with someone and get told that you _can't_." She felt Ralph's hand touch her shoulder, she clutched at the offered hand.

"I want to help you guys," she turned to look at Ralph, he gave her a reassuring smile and she looked back at the four. "Please, let me help you."

Simon, who had been silent until this point, leaned forward. "You care about him?"

Claire felt Ralph's had tremble, she gave it a squeeze. "With everything that I am." She replied easily.

Simon glanced at Markus and Claire could tell that they were communicating to each other. She felt her stomach twist and worry took her. Were they going to help her? Were they going to throw her out? Do they think that her ideas were stupid?

"Claire." Markus caught her attention. "Let's get to work."

It took her a moment to register what he was saying, but once she did, she let out a sound, maybe a squeal and leapt from her chair to attack Ralph with her embrace.

XXX

"Adrian?" Connor looked over to the man beside him. they were lying in Adrian's bed after some wonderful athletic exploits. "Father's day is in a few days, and I feel at a loss." He stroked the other's hair. "I feel that I should do something with Hank, he is always so awful to himself during this time of year."

"It's father's day soon?" Adrian said into Connor's chest. "Fuck." His voice was a groan.

Connor propped himself up on his elbow and looked down at Adrian who was gently stroking his chest. "Yes, will you be calling your father?"

Adrian let out a bitter chuckle. "Nah, I'll call my mum." He stroked his hand lazily down Connor's hip, then back up his chest. "My Dad and I haven't spoken since he kicked me out when I was sixteen." He reached down and grasped Connor, he smiled when it twitched.

Connor reached and stroked Adrian's cheek. "Why?" when Adrian hummed questioningly he rephrased his question. "Why did your father 'kick you out'?" Connor was genuinely curious, why would someone, a father, want to get rid of their own child? Especially someone as caring as Adrian.

Adrian glanced up at Connor. "I 'came out' at sixteen. ' _I'm not having one of you freaks living under my roof, get out you disgusting thing!'_ " he imitated his father's voice. "My mum still talks to me 'cause she has hopes that I'll _'return to the flock'_. Wonderful people, my parents." He reached up and touched Connor's face. "They'd _hate_ you, but they can get fucked 'cause I love you too much to leave you, especially for _them_."

Connor felt something pulse in him at the emotion in Adrian's voice. Adrian cared about him enough that he would give up his parents for him? The fact of his relationship with his parents bothered him as well, humans could be horrible people and hearing about, and in some cases, meeting people like that, made him appreciate the people around him. Especially Adrian, and Hank.

"Anyway…" Adrian shook his head and went back to stroking Connor. "You asked about Hank, what does he normally do around this time of year?"

Connor closed his eyes briefly before he replied. "He likes to get drunk. Very drunk. I worry that he will die each time." He moved his hand from Adrian's cheek down to his neck and started to gently rub it with his thumb.

"Well," Adrian thought about it. "Is there anywhere special to you both? Somewhere that you could take him?" Connor paused to think on his words, he eventually nodded. "Go there, then maybe go somewhere else, take him places, distract him, let him know how much he means to you."

Connor was silent. He continued to stroke at Adrian's neck, Adrian in turn continued to stoke him and had begun to place feather kisses on his chest. Connor closed his eyes and leaned back into the mattress, Adrian climbed up to straddle him. "You've given me an idea, I think I know what to do with him. Thank you."

Adrian grinned. "You're welcome," he leaned forwards and placed his hands on each side of Connor's head, his lips brushed against his. "Let me _show you_ just how _important_ you are to me."

XXX

"Hey it's chicken feed." Hank commented as pulled in at the booth. "Haven't been here in ages." He said as Connor switched the car off. "Why are we here?"

Connor opened the door. "I thought you might like a burger." He climbed out of the car, closed the door behind him and began walking towards the place. He was going to order Hank's meal.

Hank eyed Connor suspiciously, but followed after him none the less. He even went to the table to wait when Connor instructed him to, it did not help with his suspicions though. He narrowed his eyes as Connor walked up to him and passed him his favourite burger and some coke.

"Why are you buying me thing? What's your game?" Hank asked thinly, but he did not turn the food down.

Connor smiled serenely. "I hope that you enjoy your meal."

Hank continued to glare at him with narrowed eyes, he still ate, and enjoyed, the food, but he wasn't stupid. He _knew_ that the android was up to something. If nothing else, his stupid smug expression gave it away. It was Father's Day, and instead of getting drunk, Connor had thrown his hippie shirt at him and told him they were going out. He wondered what Connor was up to.

X

"You saved my life here." Hank commented as they stood on the roof. His lips twitched as he remembered tyring to scale the wall, and when he thought that he was going to die, Connor had _deviated_ from the mission and had chosen to save him.

"I think that it was the first time that I had been _concerned_ for a human." Connor stepped closer to Hank. "I had done and said things that went against my programming before, but this was the first time that I'd _felt_ something." He touched Hank's shoulder. "I remember wanting your friendship, approval, anything."

Hank let out a laugh. "And look at us now."

X

"The Tracie's…" Hank murmured as they walked to the fence that the Tracie's had climbed over, so many years ago. He looked up at Connor. "You didn't shoot, I was so proud of you then." He smiled. "Same as when you didn't shoot that girl at Kamski's"

"I was so confused, I didn't know why I did not shoot them." Connor crossed his arms. "I think I do now."

Hank crossed his arms and raised a brow at Connor. "Oh?"

Connor smirked. "You rubbed off on me."

Hank let out a laugh. "Smart ass!"

X

"You held a gun to my face here." Connor said quietly as they walked through the park.

Hank looked pensive and moved to sit on the bench. The same bench that he had sat on the last time. "Connor… I wanna ask you something." He looked up at Connor who stood in the exact same place that he had the last time they were there. "In the tower, when your twin had a gun to my head, why did you surrender? Why did you stop him from killing me?"

Connor was silent for a few moments before replying. "I probably wasn't thinking straight," Hank chuckled. "but in that moment, you were the only person on my mind. You were more important."

Hank felt his eyes sting, he wanted to look away, but found himself unable.

"Hank," Connor stepped closer to the Lieutenant. "You've done so much for me, you've been supportive of me, you stick up for me, you _care_ about me. Hank…" Connor seemed unsure as he spoke. "Hank you are… to me you are.. a father, I want to thank you.. for everything that you do."

"Come here you shit head." Hank jumped from the chair and pulled Connor for a hug. If Connor's, or Hank's shoulders became wet, neither one said anything.

A/N: I was thinking of writing more, but it felt like a good place to end it. I hope that you enjoyed the chapter! Let me know!


	12. Chapter 12

After It All

Connor rang the doorbell to Adrian's home and waited. While he waited he took in the surroundings. Adrian's home was pretty similar to Hanks, except a little larger, it was an old brick home that, from the moss growing up the walls, needed an external pressure clean. There wasn't much of a garden, the yard was mostly grass that was kept neat and some small hedge bushes. It was simple, but only because Adrian felt that he did not have a green thumb and didn't want to garden.

The door opened and Connor was met with the sight of Adrian in his boxers and an old baggy Metallica shirt, in his hands was his mobile, he was talking to someone on speaker phone from the sound of the feminine voice flowing through it. Adrian nodded for him to come in and closed the door behind him. Connor followed Adrian to the living room, which was fairly simple, a grey loveseat with a glass coffee table. On the wall was the black entertainment unit which contained the television and a combination of books, movie disks and other electrical devices.

" _Are you listening to me?"_ the voice from the phone snapped.

Adrian sighed and plopped onto the love seat. "Yes Mum." He sounded less than pleased with his situation.

Connor raised an eyebrow at his words. He was talking to his mother? He sat down beside Adrian and held his hand, he saw the detective smile and squeeze it back.

" _You should have been at your sister's wedding Adrian."_ The voice stated. Her voice had a slight accent to it, a quick voice scan told Connor that the accent was Texan, but not native, a learned accent. He felt Adrian tense and he rubbed his thumb against the others hand.

"Was it nice?" Adrian placed the phone on the coffee table. He then placed his cheek on Connor's chest, he snuggled into him and wrapped an arm around Connor's waist. "I saw the photos, her dress was beautiful."

" _Her dress was beautiful. The whole event was beautiful- and the bridesmaids, they were something else. You should have been there, you could have met yourself a nice young-"_

"Mother." Adrian interjected. The hand holding Connor's tightened. "We've been through this, I'm not going to meet a 'nice' girl. I don't want to meet any girls." His voice was full of his irritation. "I'm in a relationship, and I'm quite happy." He released Connor's hand so he could twist around so that he was lying on his back with his feet hanging off the sofa and his head in the android's lap.

" _Now dear, I think it's time that you get over this silly phase and come home."_

Adrian closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Goodbye mum." He reached over and picked up the phone. _"Don't you hang up-"_ he pushed the end call and dropped the phone back on the table. He let out an exaggerated groan and covered his eyes with the back of his hand.

"Are you alright, Adrian?" Connor asked stroking the other's hair.

Adrian reached up and touched the other's cheek. "If you weren't here, I probably wouldn't be, but you just being here makes me feel better." He rubbed Connor's cheek. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

X

" _Excuse me!"_

 _Hank and Connor, who had been discussing details about their latest case, looked up to see a young man with short brown hair and bright brown eyes looking at them with a vibrant smile. The pale faced young man raised a hand in greeting. Connor noted the fresh uniform that he was wearing, an indicator that he was new to the job. Possibly his first day?_

 _Hank leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "Yes?"_

" _You're Lieutenant Anderson, and Mr. Connor, aren't you?"_

 _Hank raised a brow and Conner answered. "Yes we are."_

 _The young man's eyes widened and he held his hand out to Connor. "Mr. Connor it is… it's an honour to meet you!" when Connor took the offered hand, the man went about shaking it with vigour. "I've read so much on your case and everything that you did for the revolution and your work with Lieutenant Anderson and-"_

" _Hey!" Hank raised his hands. "Take a breath kid, calm down."_

 _The 'kid' looked down, his cheeks red and he pulled on the edge of his jacket. "I.."_

 _Connor looked down at his hand, which was still linked with the other mans. He felt something twitch in his system. "M-My name is Connor, what's yours?"_

 _Connor could feel Hanks eyes on him, he was not sure why though._

 _The 'Kid' looked at Connor with a shy smile. "I'm Detective Adrian Archer, but you can call me Adrian. Today is my first day and I look forward to getting to know you- I'm sure that I can learn lots from you and Lieutenant Anderson." It was then that he seemed to realise that their hands were still linked. He pulled his back with an awkward smile._

 _Connor pulled his hand back and looked up at Adrian. "I am sure that you will be a valuable asset to the force."_

 _Adrian's white teeth flashed as he smiled. "Thank you! Now, I was going out for coffee. Is there anything that I could get you guys?"_

" _Yeah, I'll take a coffee, three sugars." Hank said._

" _I do not require anything, thank you." Connor answered._

 _When Adrian left Hank shot Connor a sly grin. "I think he likes you."_

 _Conner looked back at Hank. "He seems quite nice. I will be glad to become friends with him."_

 _Hank chuckled. "I think the kid has a little hero worship," his grin went sly. "Or a crush."_

 _Connor felt something in his systems twitch at Hanks suggestion. "I don't see where you are getting that idea from. Nor do I see how it is relevant, Adrian was trying to be nice. Nothing else."_

 _Hank chuckled._

 _Some time later, when Adrian returned. He passed Hank a coffee before looking at Connor. "You said that you do not require anything. But I thought that that was not fair, so I brought you this instead." He held out his hand and presented Connor with a small dog statue._

 _Connor's eyes widened. "I… that is to say, thank you."_

 _Adrian smiled. "I hope that you like it." He then left to give out coffee to other members of the DPD._

 _Hank took a sip of his drink, a smug look on his face. "Connor's got himself a boyfriend." He teased._

"Connor?"

Connor opened his eyes at the sound of Adrian's voice. He looked down, and saw Adrian staring up at him. At some point while watching the television, Adrian had looked up and noticed him deep in thought. He reached down and stroked the other's hair. "Yes?" he asked.

Adrian reached up and touched his forearm. "You looked out of it, you okay? I know that the news isn't all that good to watch but I wanted to find out about the new marriage and adoption laws your friends are trying to get passed."

Connor smiled, Adrian had taken a real interest in the subject, and he could remember Adrian talking about it some time ago. He loved how much Adrian cared about Android rights. He ran his fingers through the human's hair. "I was just remembering." He answered softly.

"Remembering what?"

"When we met." Connor rubbed the other's cheek. "I always appreciated how much effort you put to make me feel included."

A bright blush took Adrian's cheeks. "I will always put the effort in. I love you, I knew it then, it's stronger now." He touched the hand rubbing his face, a spark shot between the two and Adrian pulled his hand back and mumbled, "Fucking static."

"You said that you knew that you loved me then," Connor began, her voice turning serious. "How did you know? How did you know that you loved me?" Connor was genuinely curious, he had never been in love, he understood what Love was, he loved Hank, but to _be in love_ , he had never experienced that. He didn't even know if he loved Adrian, he _enjoyed_ spending time with him, but _love?_ He did not know.

Adrian smiled wistfully, his eyes glazed over as he reminisced. "I had read about you before meeting you, I thought you were interesting, your photo was attractive." The blush increased and he pushed his hair out of his face- another nervous habit. "But when I met you, when I held your hand…" he went quieter and when he spoke again, his voice was soft. "..everything stopped, heat swelled through my body at the touch, and for those few moments, while our hands touched, everything was perfect… I knew, I _knew_ that I would never experience that again."

Connor looked down at Adrian with wide eyes, the emotion in Adrian's voice had filled him with something that he could not describe. It was pure, it was powerful, he could _feel_ the love that Adrian had for him just from listening to his words. He felt a little envious, what Adrian had described sounded _perfect_ , he wanted to feel that for himself. He watched as Adrian pulled himself up to a seated position, Adrian then cupped his face and leaned forward, his lips brushed against his own.

"I love you." Adrian said before deepening the kiss.

Connor wound his arms around Adrian and pulled him flush to him. He did not know what he felt for him, but it was certainly not something that he wanted to give up. Adrian moaned and climbed onto his lap. _Definitely not something to give up._

XXX

"You look all fancy." Hank commented as Connor walked into the living room from his bedroom.

Connor, who was dressed in a simple black suit, adjusted his tie. "Thank you, Hank." He went to the kitchen and fed Sumo who jumped from his bed with a happy bark and practically jumped at the bowl when Connor filled it.

"Busy night?" Hank asked, his eyes moved back to the television, the game was on and he wasn't missing it.

"I'm meeting Adrian at his home and we're going out to dinner- I cannot eat but I want to do something that Adrian would like, he always goes out of his way for me." Connor heard the doorbell ring and moved to answer it.

"You two are so fucking sweet." Hank commented as Connor walked past him. "You shouldn't bother putting me on a 'healthy eating plan, I get enough sugar watching the two of you."

Connor rolled his eyes and opened the door. He was only mildly surprised when he saw Simon standing there, he was, however, surprised when he saw Markus standing beside him. "Hello, Simon, Markus." He gestured for the two to come in.

Simon smiled. "Hank invited me to 'watch the game'," He motioned to Markus. "Markus wanted to meet the man who has been such an influence on both you and myself." Simon then looked over at the back of Hank's head. "Hello Hank." He walked over at sat himself beside the Lieutenant.

"It's good to see you again, Connor." Markus grinned at him.

Connor nodded in response. "How is New Jericho?"

"Simon!" Hank grinned. "The game's gunna start soon, watch, you'll learn a few things!"

Simon nodded. "I brought Markus, I hope that you don't mind."

Hank twisted his head to look back at the other android. "Markus! Simon's told me about you, Connor too, come sit down!"

Markus' grin widened. "I'll see you later."

X

Connor stepped out of the taxi, the first thing that he noticed was that Adrian's car was not there and that there were no lights on in the house. He frowned. Perhaps Adrian had run down to the store? That did not make sense though, Adrian would have called him if something had happened. He walked to the door and rang the doorbell. When after a few moments, there was no answer so he rang it again. When again there was no answer, he walked around looking through the windows, it was dark, clearly no one was home.

His LED flashed yellow as he tried to phone Adrian, when the mobile rang out and went to voicemail, he left a message and walked back to the front door. He sat down on the porch and waited, Adrian couldn't be that long.

Five minutes later, he attempted to phone Adrian again. Like the first time it rang through.

Fifteen minutes later, he tried ringing Adrian again. Still no answer.

Thirty minutes later, he was starting to get worried.

An hour later, he was panicking.

Three hours later he took a taxi home.

X

"Hey Connor!" the sound of a pepped up Hank greeted him as he walked through the door. Clearly his team had won. "What's wrong? You look like someone kicked your dog." Bless Hank, always knowing when something was bothering him.

"Adrian did not turn up." Connor said quietly.

"The fuck you mean, 'did not turn up'?" Hank tilted his head in confusion.

Connor looked away sadly. He absentmindedly noticed that Simon and Markus were watching them, well that just made the night. "I tried calling him, twenty-six times, he never came home."

"Was he at the restaurant?" Hank asked.

Connor shook his head. "We were going to buy pizza and go to a park."

"Was he stuck at work?" Simon asked, knowing that Adrian was a police officer.

Hank reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. "I'll find out!" Connor tried to protest, the last thing that anyone needed was a drunken Hank calling Captain Fowler at eleven o'clock at night. Hank batted his hand away and walked towards the kitchen. "Hey Jeffery!" Hank's voice was loud. "You heard from Archer?" Hank was silent for a few moments, the android's in the room watched as his shoulder's tensed. "Oh fuck…" Hank said softly. "Shit.." He ran a hand through his hair. "I gotta tell Connor, thanks Jeffery."

Hank hung up his phone and ran another hand through his hair. He let out a 'fuck' and exhaled deeply. When he turned, his eyes were closed and he took a deep breath, Connor felt something in his systems drop when Hank opened his eyes. The expression on his face was grim. "Connor… Adrian's… well he's… he's in hospital… he's been shot."

White noise rang in Connor's ears.

X

"Uhh ma'am, we need to see a patient, an Adrian Archer." Hank said politely to the Android at the hospital's reception. He looked over at Connor briefly, the android had barely reacted since hearing the news in the house. He had been behaving in a way that concerned Hank, he was so still, so _quiet_ , he had been staring at nothingness since the news and had been limp as he, Simon and Markus had led him to the car to drive to the hospital.

The nurse android touched the terminal. "I'm sorry," she looked at them with a sad frown. "Mr. Archer is still in surgery, he will be unable to take any visitors for at least twenty-four hours."

Hank eyed Connor wearily. He couldn't even tell if Connor had heard, or registered what had been said; one glance at the other two showed that they shared his thoughts. He reached over and touched Connor's shoulder. "Son?"

Connor looked up at the nurse. "I need to wait." His voice was quiet. "I need to wait for him. I need to see him."

Hank eyed the nurse and wondered if she would let him stay. The nurse was quiet and eyed Connor for a few moments before her eyes softened. "You can wait in the waiting room, I can't guarantee how long you will be waiting though."

She had not even finished talking before Connor took off. Hank and the other two had to speed walk to catch up with him. "It'll be okay son." Hank said as Connor sat in one of the chairs. They were ergonomic fold out chairs, and as he sat down in one, Hank knew that they were in for a long haul.

"We can stay with you Connor." Markus said as he and Simon sat across from the pair. "I don't want you to go through this on your own.

Connor rested his elbows on his knees and clutched his hands together. He ducked his head and his eyes locked onto a random space on the floor. He felt his hands tremble and his eyes watered. This couldn't be happening, _this could not be happening._ Why had this happened to Adrian? What had Adrian ever done to deserve being shot? Adrian was _perfect_ , he was kind, he was gentle, he was caring. He was the most perfect human that Connor had ever met, what had he done to deserve this?

As tears welled up in his eyes, he felt Hank's hand touch his shoulder.

X

"Any word?" Hank asked as Simon cam back to sit with them.

Simon shook his head. "The won't tell us any more until he is ready to take visitors."

Connor's hands trembled.

X

Hank jolted awake, he reached back and pushed down on his spine as he sat up. The _stupid_ chairs were doing _wonders_ for his back. He looked around, nothing seemed to have changed from when he fell asleep. "How long was I out for?" he held back a burp, then scowled at the foul taste in his mouth.

"Two hours." Markus replied with a sad smile.

"Shit." Hank winced as he moved in the chair. "How long have we been here now?"

"Twelve hours, thirteen minutes and twenty-eight seconds." Connor's voice shook as he talked, he had not moved from the spot since they had arrived.

Hank noticed how _pale_ Connor looked, though he was not sure if that was the fluorescent lighting.

"It will be alright Connor." Simon said softly.

X

Hours later, _many hours later_ , Hank was eating some peanuts while Simon and Markus had a silent conversation and Connor still had not moved.

"Excuse me?" three of them looked up to see a Nurse standing by their chairs. "Are you four the gentlemen who are waiting of Mr. Archer?" At Hank's nod she continued. "Well he's awake and is happy to have visitors, only for a little while mind you, he's in room twenty-three A-" She jumped back as Connor jumped from the chair and sprinted away. "Sir! This is a hospital, please don't run!"

Hank groaned as he pulled himself out of his chair. "Ma'am no offence, but I don't think anything is going to stop him."

"He really loves Adrian, doesn't he?" Markus commented as he pulled himself from the chair.

Hank let out a chuckle. "If only the idiot would figure it out for himself."

X

Connor all but slammed the door to Adrian's room open. He stormed in, only to freeze at the sight. Adrian was pale, almost grey, he had bruising on his arms and side- possibly from falling- and bandages wrapped around his chest. He did not need to do a body scan to tell that he had been shot in the pectoral. He felt something in him clench at the sight. He never wanted to see Adrian in such a state, the sound of the heart monitor was deafening to his ears.

Adrian opened his eyes wearily and smiled. "Hey Connor."

The sound of his voice seemed to trigger something in him. he snapped to attention and charged towards the bed. He grasped Adrian's hand tightly, as though he were afraid that he was going to disappear, or something else would happen. He brought the hand to his lips and kissed it firmly.

Adrian felt the trembling in Connor and frowned. "Are you okay?"

Connor shook his head, his eyes watered. "I should be asking you that." he reached out and touched the other's face, his hands were shaking. "You were the one who was shot."

Adrian let out a breath of laughter. "I'll be fine. I'm sorry that I worried you." He tilted his face and pressed his lips against the palm. "I'm so glad that you're here. I love you Connor." He kissed the palm again.

Hank and the other's reached the room, only to turn and wait outside, the two deserved their privacy.

Connor held Adrian's face with both hands and leaned forward. He pressed his forehead against Adrian's, his body was still shaking, he was unsure if he would be able to stop any time soon. "I was scared." He admitted. "I don't want to lose you."

"Hey," Adrian soothed. "I'm not leaving you, I might not be able to leave the hospital for a few days, but I'm alive, I'm okay."

"Please…" Adrian's eyes widened at the sound of Connor's voice. So innocent, so weak, so frightened. "Please don't leave me, I was so frightened that you were going to die…I… I love you too much for that…" as the words left his lips, he wrapped his arms, mindful of wounds, around Adrian and buried his face in the other's shoulder.

"Connor…" Adrian's eyes watered. "Oh Connor…" he returned the embrace tightly. "I love you too."

A/N: I hope you guys liked the chapter.


	13. Chapter 13

After it all

Claire groaned and typed at her laptop; she had been spending so much time typing proposals and cross-referencing laws and rights. She had barely done anything else, other than work and sleep, what little sleep that she had. She was so close to getting the laws passed. There was opposition, but most of the general public was on her side, she would get this done. She _knew_ that she would get this done. She stopped typing and rubbed her stinging eyes, she had spent way too much time staring at the screen. She jumped at the feeling of hands on her shoulder.

"Claire needs to take a break." Ralph's voice was close to her ear as his fingers began to massage her tense shoulders.

Claire made a sound and leaned back into her chair, her head pressed against Ralph's shoulder as he continued to rub her shoulders. "Ralph, your fingers are _amazing_." She tilted her head and kissed his cheek.

He smiled at her and continued to rub the knots out of her shoulders. "Put the computer away, come we'll rest on the couch, Ralph will make you some dinner." He nuzzled her cheek and brushed his lips against hers.

Claire moaned at the idea, just thinking about lying on the couch and watching television made her body sing. She _needed_ it, but she _couldn't._ "I have to finish this, I need to get it ready for Markus as soon as possible."

Ralph shook his head and snapped the laptop closed, at her sound of protest he eyed her. "Markus would not want Claire exhausting herself. Rest, let Ralph look after you, and then come back to working later." He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her up. He ignored her protesting grumbles and guided her to the sofa. When she was seated he turned on the television.

" _Public opinion for the movement is high, it seems that the idea of 'robotic love' is an idea that everyone is getting behind. Perhaps, soon, we can see families of Androids and Humans, walking amongst us-"_ Ralph switched the channel, he ignored her protest and put on some cartoons. Cartoons were good, _safe,_ Claire liked cartoons, Ralph liked cartoons, and cartoons wouldn't remind Claire of her paperwork.

"Ralph," Claire moaned into the cushion of the sofa. "Don't cook dinner, I'll order a pizza…"

Ralph knelt down on the floor beside the sofa, he reached out and ran his fingers through her hair. "What is bothering Claire?"

"I'm worried that I'm going to fuck it up." She mumbled into the cushion.

He pushed her hair behind her ear and continued to stroke her hair. "You are doing an amazing job." He soothed. "Claire cares so much, you have a kind heart."

Claire turned her head and looked up at Ralph, her eyes were red from rubbing them. "I want this for androids, they deserve happiness." She reached out and touched his face. "I want this for you Ralph, you deserve happiness."

Ralph tilted his head. "Ralph is happy with Claire." His LED flashed yellow, something about the way she had spoken seemed… off. As though something were bothering her, he could not place what though.

Claire smiled wistfully. "I know Ralph," she stroked his cheek. "What if you meet someone who makes you happy though? I want you to be able to marry, be happy, enjoy life." She moved to take her hand back, only to have him grasp it tightly.

His LED ran red. "What is Claire saying!?" he cried out. "Ralph wants to be with Claire!"

Claire's eyes watered. "And I want to be with you, but-"

"No!" Ralph shook his head wildly, his LED flashing sporadically. "I only want to be with you Claire. Please don't leave me! Please!" his eyes swelled with tears and he tightened his grip on her hand, it was almost painful.

Claire winced at the pain in her hand, he noticed but was unable to stop himself. "I'm not going anywhere Ralph." She said quietly her eyes flickering to his flashing LED. "I was just thinking about what you might want- I don't want you to think that you owe it to me to stay or anything... I'm so sorry Ralph…"

Ralph pulled her up from the couch and clutched her to his body. He squeezed her tightly and buried is face into the crook of her shoulder. "Claire," he sobbed, his body was shaking. "I won't ever have anyone else. Only Claire, Claire and Ralph. I want to be with you… Marry me."

Claire felt her heart jolt. She craned her neck back to look at him, he lifted his head from her shoulder and his wet brown eyes locked with her blue. "What did you say?" her voice was shaking.

Ralph's body continued to shake and his LED flashed wildly. "Ralph wants to marry Claire. Please Claire, marry Ralph?"

Claire took longer than expected to answer, she was so stunned and overwhelmed by his words. How long had he been thinking about this? Had he said it in the heat of the moment? She looked into his eyes, his eyes were so open to her, he wanted this. Her lips trembled as she spoke. "Y-yes… yes Ralph." She let out a shriek as he pulled her to stand and twirled her, her shriek turned into laughter and she embraced him.

"I'm so happy!" Ralph moved her around the room in a dance. Claire laughed with him and held onto him while he danced. His LED had gone blue again and he humming happily while he twirled her around. "I love you Claire!"

Claire squeezed him tightly, she briefly wondered how her family was going to feel about this, but in the end decided that they could get fucked. She was happy, Ralph was happy and that was all that mattered. She let out a laugh as he spun her again. "I love you too, Ralph. I love you too!"

XXX

Connor stood by a tree and watched the scene before him. They were at a park for the DPD's annual 'barbeque', the weather was lovely and everyone seemed to be happily chatting away with each other. Connor had chosen to step back, however, and observe, even years after working with these people, he still preferred to watch. He would be social when it was required of him, but he liked watching people, it was relaxing.

He smiled as he saw Adrian talking animatedly about something, his smile turned into a frown when he took in who Adrian was talking to. Gavin. He tilted his head in confusion, why was Adrian talking to Gavin? He was under the impression that the two had not spoken in months, not since Adrian had fought with the detective. Had they reconciled? If so Adrian had not mentioned it to him.

"You look troubled," A voice said from beside him. "Penny for your thoughts?"

Connor turned to the owner of his voice. It was a woman, early thirties, short brown hair, smooth pale skin, full lips and bright hazel eyes. She was wearing a simple blue flower dress and in her arms was a baby who was barely three months old. A quick scan on the lady told Connor who she was, Alexa Reed, aged 32, no offences. Alexa _Reed_. His eyes shot to her face as he realised whom she was. His LED flashed yellow briefly before he spoke to her.

"Mrs. Reed?"

Alexa nodded with a smile. "That's right, you're Connor, aren't you? Gavin's told me about you." She adjusted the bundle in her arms so that she could hold a hand out to him. He politely took the hand and shook it.

"It's nice to meet you Mrs. Reed." He replied, taking his hand back.

"Please, call me Alexa." She rocked her child when they made a sound. "Shh, Rosie, shh.." she soothed, moving back and forwards on her heels. "You're with him, aren't you?" she nodded towards Adrian, who was now moving his hands with excitement, causing Gavin to laugh.

Connor nodded. "Yes, how did you know?" he was curious, as far as he was aware, they had not given any displays, not that they were hiding their relationship, he was just curious as to how she had worked it out. Perhaps he was showing something?

She let out a chuckle. "Relax, I kind of figured it out when Gavin explained why he was suspended those months ago." She slowed her rocking as her child went back to sleep. She adjusted the baby's pink blanket and looked up at Connor. "Although, I work as a marriage therapist, and occasionally a criminal psyche analyser, so, I like to think that I can tell these things- and let me tell you, you and Adrian might not think it, but the two of you scream your feelings for each other." She let out a sigh. "New love, it's so nice to see."

Connor was silent for some time. He needed a few moments to process the fact that Gavin, _Gavin_ , was married to a therapist. Would the wonders ever cease? He glanced over at Gavin and noticed that the detective was no longer paying attention to Adrian, but instead was watching him with a frown. "How long have you been with Detective Reed?" he asked looking back at Alexa, he found his eyes drawn to the bundle in her arms.

Alexa let out a breath of laughter. "Gosh, I've been with Gavin since high school. We went to prom together, broke up while I went to college, but as soon as I was back in Detroit, we've been together since. So, we've been married four? Yeah four years now. We've been together, all up, including school… ten or twelve years."

Connor felt it unbelievable that Gavin would be so, so tender? He married his high school sweetheart, who was a therapist. Something just did not add up, why was Gavin the way he was, if he had so many positive influences in his life? The baby in Alexa's arms let out a wail and Connor watched the small creature cry while their mother tried to soothe them. As the baby began to calm Connor jumped as they were held out to him.

"Go ahead," Alexa offered. "You've been eyeing her since you saw her, give her a cuddle."

Connor's systems twitched and his hands trembled lightly as he took the baby. He had programming on holding babies. He had been made to be prepared for any situation, but something about holding a baby, a _real_ baby, it terrified him. The baby in his arms went quiet and eyed him curiously. "Hello." Connor said quietly, he placed a hand on the babe's cheek and stroked it gently.

"You're doing so well!" Alexa encouraged him.

Connor could _feel_ eyes on him and looked up briefly. He saw Hank who was grinning at him, pride radiated from his eyes. Adrian, who had stopped telling Gavin his story, was now watching him with wide eyes, there was something in his expression that Connor could not read, he would have to talk to him about it later. His eyes locked with Gavin's, the detective was watching him with wide, stunned eyes. The expression on his face, Connor was unsure if it was anger, or shock. Connor looked back at the baby who was smiling at him. He smiled back.

"Gavin doesn't mean it, you know." Alexa said softly, Connor looked over to her. "He's just… misguided, he has his father's way of thinking… but," she smiled softly. "he's got a good heart, I hope that you get to see it one day."

"Connor." Connor looked up to see Gavin watching him with thin lips. He held his hands out and gestured with a nod to his child. Connor hesitated briefly, he was happy holding her, but he handed the child back. He watched as Gavin seemed to instantly change, his face softened and he leaned down to kiss the baby's head. The girl smiled at him. "That's right, Daddy's got you." Gavin nodded to Connor before gesturing for Alexa to follow after him.

"It was nice meeting you, Connor." Alexa touched his shoulder. "Hopefully we'll meet again." She winked at him and followed after her husband.

Connor remained where he was and watched as Gavin went around showing off his daughter. He was so proud, so happy. He had never before, in all the years that he had known Gavin, seen him like this, it made him seem more human, and less like an asshole. He jumped as a hand slid into his, he turned to see Adrian standing beside him with a small grin.

"You looked amazing just now." He said softly. "I loved seeing you holding a baby." He nudged against Connor with his shoulder.

"It was… incredible," Connor replied. "Such a tiny creature, so pure, such innocence. It was beautiful."

Adrian hummed. "Someone's clucky."

Connor frowned as he searched for the meaning of the phrase. "I'm not."

"You are~"

XXX

Hank pulled himself from the couch at the sound of the doorbell, he wondered who it was, Connor had a key so he wouldn't need the doorbell when he got home, and everyone else that he spoke to he wasn't expecting to see anytime soon. He opened the door and froze, his heart stopped.

"Karen?" his voice shook.

On his porch stood a woman, her hair was dyed brown and showed some grey wisps, she was shorter than Hank, but not by much. She was an average weight and dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a white blouse. He lines around her grey eyes crinkled as she smiled. She raised a hand in a wave.

"Hello Hank." She spoke. "I'm in town for a few days, and I thought that it would be awful of me to not come and see you."

"Uh…" Hank stumbled over his thoughts as he stared at the woman before him. He had not seen her for years, _years_ , not since… "S-sure, come in." he gestured for her to enter. He watched her as she walked into the house- he could smell her perfume, she hadn't changed it in all these years. He closed the door and followed behind her.

"It's changed in here…" Karen commented as she walked through the living room. "The kitchen hasn't." she let out a laugh. "At least it's clean though, I'm surprised." She walked over and turned on the coffee machine.

"Yeah, Connor's been real helpful at keeping it clean." Hank sat at the table and looked over at her. "He's done heaps, you seen his garden?" he had to keep talking, he did not know how he would cope if silence took them. He wasn't sure how he was dealing with talking to her, let alone silence.

Karen pulled out two mugs from the cupboards. "You still keep them here." She murmured with a shake of her head. "I did see the garden." She replied. "I almost didn't ring the doorbell, I didn't think that it was your home anymore, never thought you'd have a garden that didn't die." She poured the coffee into the mugs and brought them over to the table, she passed one to Hank and kept the other for herself.

Hank laughed. "Yeah, that's all Connor. Kid's really done a job on this place."

Karen took a sip of her coffee before eyeing him. "You've mentioned this 'Connor' twice, who is he?"

Hank sipped his coffee, he then returned her stare. She had always had that look when she was trying to pry information that she felt that she may not approve of, would she approve of Connor? He didn't know, he didn't really care. "He's my partner- not uh like that, he lives here and we work on homicide together." Hank drank more of his coffee. "He's a good kid, always looking out for everyone."

Karen hummed. "I'm glad that you've made a friend. Do you see Jeffery often?"

Hank snorted. "Every fucking day."

"I talk to him often." Karen said, her eyes went sharp. "He tells me how your doing, told me about your 'roulette' sessions." Her lips thinned. "I know why. You shouldn't do it though."

Hank groaned. He hadn't done that in years and it was _still_ coming back to beat him in the ass? "Why are you here anyway?" he asked, he didn't want to deal with her interrogating him about long dead habits.

She tapped her fingers against the mug. "I'm getting married." She said evenly. "My fiancé has family here, we're meeting them before the wedding." She tapped against the wooden table, a nervous habit that she obviously hadn't stopped.

Hank's eyes widened at her news, he knew that this would have happened eventually, but he still had trouble absorbing it. How do you feel about hearing that your ex-wife was getting remarried? "Oh well, congratulations. I hope that your happy with him." and he was, he was also shocked, as he should be.

Karen hummed. "I am. I just felt that I should… see you." She gestured helplessly. "You seem to be doing well." She changed the subject.

Hank smiled. "I am doing good…. I've had help.. moving on.." he looked at her and took her in, he wondered where he would be if things had been different, perhaps if he hadn't been such an ass. He shook his head, not there was no use dwelling on it, he was happy with how his life had turned out, he was happier now than he had been in years.

Karen nodded. "I can see that, you seem… lighter, I'm glad."

Hank opened his mouth to reply, only to stop at the sound of the door opening. He looked over and saw three figures enter the house, Connor, Adrian and Sumo. He glanced over at Karen who had tilted her head back to look at them.

"There you go Sumo." Connor undid the lead and patted the dog, Sumo made a happy sound and padded off to his bed. Connor then rolled up the lead and put it on the shelf. "He's a good boy." He said to Adrian.

Adrian wound his arms around Connor's waist. "I can think of another good boy."

Hank wanted the earth to swallow him whole. Did the two have to do that shit in his living room? Did they even know that he was sitting right there!? He glanced at Karen who was watching the scene with a raised brow. God help him.

Connor cupped Adrian's face and gave the other a sideways grin. "I can think of a few tricks that this good boy can do."

Jesus Christ Connor. Hank buried his face in his hands. "Connor… for fucks sake.." he groaned into his hands.

The two men jumped and turned to see the two at the table. Adrian went red and let out a startled sound while Connor stiffened. "H-Hank and…?" Connor smiled uncomfortably at the two.

Karen pulled herself up from the chair. "I'm Karen, an old… _friend_ of Hanks." She walked over to the pair and held out a hand. "Hank's told me all about you. I'm glad to meet you." She shook Connor's hand, and then Adrian's. "Well!" she suddenly said. "I do have other places to be, it was good to meet you and to see Hank again."

"Wait…" Hank called out. He walked over to them. "I'll walk you out." He placed a hand on her back and led her out, not before sending Connor and Adrian a withering glare. He led her out of the house and walked her to her car.

"It was good to see you again." Karen said as they stood by her car. "I'm amazed that your 'Connor' is an android, of all the things to bring you-"

"He's not a thing!" Hank snapped angrily. "He's Connor!"

"I didn't fucking mean it like that!" she snapped back, before she let out a laugh. "Oh Hank…" she patted his shoulder. "All this time and we still can't go an hour without fighting…" her expression softened. "Take care of yourself… though I think you don't need me to tell you that, you seem to be doing really well. I'm proud of you."

She pulled him into a hug. "Take care."

Hank returned the hug. "Yeah I will, you too."

A/N: Probably won't be many chapter's left, I hope that you enjoyed this one!


	14. Chapter 14

After It All

"Something's changed between you two." Claire looked up to see Markus walking towards her. She was sitting in the lunch area of 'New Jericho', underneath one of the apple trees. She shifted on the white bench that she was sitting on and made some room to accommodate him.

"What do you mean?" She asked as he sat down. She closed the laptop that was sitting on her knees and placed it beside her.

Markus adjusted his shirt and leaned back on the bench. He raised his leg and propped his ankle on his knee, he then rested his elbows on the back of the bench, he looked quite comfortable and relaxed. He nodded to Ralph, who was excitedly expressing something to Simon. "You both seem… lighter, happier even." He tilted his head and smiled. "Did something change?"

Claire felt her lips twitch and she pushed her hair behind her ears. _Something_ certainly _had_ happened, something that definitely improved both hers and Ralphs dispositions. "We," she began, not embarrassed, but shy. Markus, while quite easy to talk to, made her quieter, more demure than she usually was. "Ralph, he proposed, we're engaged." She felt her face heat up.

Markus' face lit up and he clapped his hands together. "Well that is good news!" his voice was full of cheer. "I'm happy for you both!" he looked over at Ralph who was now jumping around Simon with excitement, he hid a grin, poor Simon looked like he needed saving. "It would be good," Markus looked back at her. "I think that the two of you should be the first to marry, once the law is put through."

Claire felt her heart pulse as her eyes widened. She had never even thought of that, she had just wanted to help androids. She imagined her wedding, she could see Ralph standing with his childish grin, she could see herself, in a simple dress, the two of them saying their vows. A small gathering of people to witness the event. Tears prickled at her eyes as she was overwhelmed with emotions. She did not even care if she was the first, she would just be happy to have it happen. She looked up and noticed Markus watching her with a raised brow, amusement on his face, she felt her cheeks redden.

"S-sorry." She murmured.

Markus chuckled. "There's nothing wrong with being excited. You have every reason to be, I am excited for you and," he chuckled again. "I can _tell_ that Ralph is too." He inclined his head and Claire followed to what he was gesturing to. Her eyes widened and she giggled as she saw Ralph tackling Simon and holding the poor android in a tight hug.

Her face scrunched up in amusement. "Poor Simon. I should probably save him."

Markus waved his hand dismissively. "It's okay, Simon's tough. He'll survive." He continued to watch with a grin, a chuckle escaped his lips.

Claire found herself joining him in the laughter.

"Would you four be there?" she said after some time, gaining his attention. "You guys have been nothing but kind and supportive of our relationship." She laughed quietly and pushed more hair out of her face. "I want to say thank you, and, and I think that Ralph would like for you to be there too."

"The two of you give me hope." Markus replied, he reached out and touched her shoulder, he rubbed it reassuringly. "Seeing how you both are with each other, it gives me hope that, in time, that humans and androids can come together." He grinned at her. "We would be honoured to attend your wedding."

Unable to contain her emotions, Claire jumped at Markus and held him tightly in a hug. Her actions caused Ralph and Simon to freeze, confusion etched on their faces- this only caused her to smile brighter and laugh harder.

X

"You seemed pretty comfortable with Claire." Simon said evenly as he came to stand beside Markus who was standing by a tree, a pomegranate, in the lunch area. When Markus did not instantly reply he understood that it was because he was busy painting, so he instead waited and watched Markus paint. He loved watching the other paint, Markus put so much soul in his painting, so much heart, it was wonderful. He watched as Markus added some vermillion to the painting, he had never been one for art, and he hated the colour vermillion, but somehow, Markus was able to turn a hideous colour into something spectacular.

"They're getting married." Markus replied as he took a step back from the canvas. He eyed his work for a brief moment before he picked a colour from the palate and went back to his art.

Simon crossed his arms and moved to lean against the tree. "Is that why Ralph was so excitable?" he tilted his head and thought about it for a few moments, he eventually nodded. "I'm happy for them, they seem to genuinely care about each other."

Markus nodded and placed the palate on the grass. He then moved over to where Simon was, he leaned casually against the tree beside him. "It's nice to see them together, I find it humbling." He moved closer and his arm brushed against Simon's.

Simon glanced down at their touching arms, then back up at Markus' twinkling eyes, he moved his hand and linked it with his. He smiled when Markus rubbed his thumb against palm. Their skin began to disperse and their minds joined. Simon's eyes flashed as Markus' feelings for him flowed through him, and with his other hand he reached and cupped the other's face. They both leaned forward and their lips met, no other words were spoken between the pair. They weren't needed.

XXX

" _H-Hello Connor._ " Adrian's voice flowed through Connor's mind as he called Adrian, there was something _off_ about his voice, it sounded strained, almost panicked. Connor tilted his head in slight confusion, what was wrong with him?

"Hello Adrian, I was wondering if you would like to do something tonight?"

" _Tonight? Umm, Connor, tonight probably isn't best._ " There was a sound in the background, yelling?

"Is everything alright Adrian?" Connor was concerned, something was wrong.

" _Um yeah, look I gotta go,_ " The 'yelling' increased, it sounded like a woman shrieking. " _I'll see you tomorrow, bye!_ " the phone was hung up. Connor's eyes fluttered open and he was met with the sight of Hank and Sumo eyeing him from the sofa.

"You okay Connor?" Hank asked while he chewed on his dinner, a chicken salad roll- which had been made by Connor, a concession for the beers that he was going to drink that night. He reached over to his beer and had a drink, he then made a sound of protest as Sumo took that moment to try and steal the roll, Hank shooed the dog away.

"Adrian seemed, I don't know, different." Connor replied standing awkwardly beside the couch. He moved to sit when Hank gestured for him to do so, he gave the sulking Sumo a pat. "I heard shouting on his end." He said with a frown.

Hank patted Connor's shoulder and took another bite of the roll. "Adrian's a big boy he can look after himself," at the expression on Connor's face Hank sighed. "Look Connor, you'll see him tomorrow anyway, don't stress, I'm sure that he'll explain it all tomorrow."

Hank had no idea how true his words would be.

X

"Hey what happened to your eye?" Gavin's voice drew the attention of Hank and Connor. "Your plastic boyfriend being a bit rough?" he barked a laugh and walked off to his desk. Connor and Hank's eyes followed the detective as he walked to his desk while laughing.

"Hey Connor." Connor's eyes shot to the front of his desk, his eyes widened at the sight he was met with. Adrian was dressed the same way that he always was, his uniform was neat and tidy and ironed, in fact, he seemed to be better presented than he usually was, the thing that stood out, however, was his swollen and black, left eye. A scan indicated that he had been struck from a side blow to the head.

"Holy shit, what happened?" Hank asked with wide eyes.

Connor rose from his seat and stormed around the desk to where Adrian was. "What happened!?" he reached out to touch the other's cheek, he was careful not to touch the swollen part of his face. He took in the bruising and the blood shot eye, what had happened? _Why_ had this happened to Adrian?

Adrian let out a breath of laughter. "I pissed off my mum."

"Your _mother_ did that to you?" Hank seemed to be gaping.

"Why," Connor stroked the cheek. "Why did she do that to you?"

Adrian tugged on his sleeve before leaning into the touch on his cheek. He let out another laugh. "She came down for a visit, tried getting me to 'meet' some women, I told her that I wasn't interested." Connor moved and got a chair for Adrian, he placed the chair beside his at the desk and gestured for Adrian to sit beside him. Adrian sat at the chair and Connor sat in his own, he then took Adrian's hands and waited for him to continue.

"She got angry," he snorted. "like she isn't always angry." He shook his head then winced at the movement. "She demanded to know why, so I told her." he locked eyes with Connor, and ignored the many watching them. "I told her that I had you, she tried to make me choose, I chose you." He laced his fingers with Connor's and gave the android a small grin. "So she gave me a black eye and disowned me. I like to think that I got the better end of it all." He winked at Connor before wincing.

Connor's LED flashed red at what he had heard. How could she do that? What kind of person would do that to their own child? What kind of parent would make their child choose between them and their love? He thought that he had seen everything that humans could do, but he was wrong and he was constantly being surprised by them. He shook his head and squeezed the hand linked with his.

"You should not have been made to make that choice." He heard Hank make a sound of agreement.

Adrian sighed. "I'm surprised that it didn't happen earlier, to be honest. I meant it though, I made the right choice. I love you Connor."

Connor's LED flashed between red and yellow as he processed what he had been told. Adrian had chosen him, _him_. Adrian had chosen him over his family, Adrian loved him so much, that he was willing to give up his family, all connections with them, for him. He felt warmth radiate through him and his eyes locked with Adrian's. He could feel the eyes of the DPD on him, they were watching, waiting for his response.

Connor smiled, a smile that Adrian returned. "I love you too, Adrian."

X

Hank groaned as he lowered himself into the park bench. They had gone to the park where Hank used to go, many years ago. The park where Hank had held a gun to Connor's head. The park where they had both learned so much about themselves and each other. He looked up and Connor who was leaning against the railing and looking out at Detroit.

"You got something on your mind?" Hank called out.

Connor inclined his head. "Adrian," he turned around. "Adrian gave up his family for his feelings, for his beliefs, for me."

Hank nodded with a thoughtful expression. "Kids probably better off. From what I've heard about them." he eyed Connor and raised a brow. "What's going on?"

Connor looked pensive while he replied. "Am I truly in love with Adrian?"

Hank barked a laugh. "There's a stupid question, of course you fucking do. What made you think that?"

"You."

"Eh?" Hank blanched. "What the fuck do you mean?"

Connor turned to face Hank, the expression on his face was troubled. "If I was told that I had to pick between you and Adrian, I would choose you, it would hurt, but I would choose you. Do I truly love Adrian?"

Hank rolled his eyes and leaned back into the chair. "Connor you're thinking in hypotheticals," he waved his had dismissively at the other. "that's a human trait. It's not going to happen, so don't think about it. You'll never have to choose between the two of us."

"Hank there are a number of scenarios where-"

"Connor!" Hank snapped. "Shut up." When Connor went silent he pulled himself up with a groan. He was getting too old for this shit. "You love that man, you only need to spend one minute with you both to see that." he walked over to the other and leaned against the railing. "Would you do anything, anything within your power to make him happy?"

Connor tilted his head and pondered the question. "Yes."

Hank nodded and proceeded. "If Adrian was going to get shot, would you take the bullet."

Again Connor thought of the question. "There is a… high probability that I would."

"Just fucking say yes." Hank rolled his eyes. "Are you happy, completely happy and at ease with him?" 

Connor turned to look out at the city, he thought about his time spent with Adrian. He did, Adrian filled him with a feeling of contentment, he was happy with Adrian. "I am."

Hank clapped a hand on his back. "Then you love him. Don't worry about shit that's not going to happen."

"But Hank-"

"It's _not_ going to happen."

Connor's lip twitched upwards. "Thank you, for everything, Hank."

Hank grinned. "You're welcome, Son."

A/N: And that's the end, I probably won't add anymore unless inspiration hits, or someone asks me to write something. I want to say thank you for reading, and I hope that you enjoyed it. Thanks!


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Since you asked, here's another chapter! Enjoy!

After It All

" _First America purges Androids, now they're_ _marrying_ _them, will America ever know what it wants?"_

" _Calls to question girls mental state, marriage to a machine?"_

" _Woman marries her dildo: If that girl can marry her robot, I can marry my rabbit."_

" _Woman to marry android, how long until it-"_

"Jessica, can you please stop reading the bad news headlines, I really don't need it now. Is there anything positive?" Claire bristled from her chair. She was sitting in a small room of a church, the church where she was about to go to get married. To Ralph. She fingered her pink hair that was tied back in a loose French braid, there were tiny silver flowers weaved through her locks. She had picked the flowers for Ralph, same as her pale pink dress. She fingered the lace on the on the corset top of the dress, then slid down the smooth layered lace of the skirt. She felt beautiful, but panicked at the same time, she hoped that he liked how she looked.

"I'm just reading it as it is." Came the reply. "You're the one marrying the robot, you're going to have to get used to the comments." Jessica, who was an old friend of Claire's, put her phone down and rubbed her hands against her jeans- she would have to change into her bridesmaid dress soon.

Claire sighed and turned to face her friend. "You still have a problem with this, don't you?" her voice was not sad, it was tired, she was so sick of having this discussion with Jessica, and all of her friends for that matter. She glanced at North who was silently sitting on a desk in the corner of the room, she was somewhat envious, she wished that she could be as relaxed about things as the android could be.

Jessica flicked her red curls out of her face and pinned Claire with her steel eyes. "I won't stop having a problem with this. You should be with a human," she gestured with her hands. "You've changed since you met him, he's all you talk about, you don't think about anything else- it's crazy and ridiculous, he's a robot! He's plastic!" she raised her hands in exasperation.

Claire blanched, but before she could respond, she was cut off by North. "Hey!" she jumped from the desk. She crossed her arms and walked up to the to, her eyes locked with Jessica's and she glared. "This is a happy day for her, if you can't be happy for them, then why are you here?"

The glare was returned. "I'm here to support my friend."

Claire, before she could stop herself, let out a snort. She disguised it with a cough and continued to watch the scene unfold. She was a little surprised though that North of all people was sticking up for her, maybe she wasn't as scary as she thought.

"Some friend you are," North countered, leaning towards the human. "Your 'friend' is getting married, you should care, instead you make her feel like shit, if you can't support her, then you need to leave. Now."

Claire watched with wide eyes as her 'friend', a girl whom she had known for over ten years, sent her a cold look before turning and storming from the room. Her mouth hung open, she could not believe it. That was her friend, she had always been there for her, and she could not do the same for her? How _could_ she, Claire felt her stomach drop and she had to suck in deep breaths to stop herself from crying. She closed her eyes as she noticed North watching her. She did not want to cry.

Jessica looked past North and glared at Claire. "What happens when you want children? What happens when you get old? Are you still going to have sex with it when you're wrinkled and dying? I came today because you _asked,_ but I don't agree with it." She turned sharply and moved to the door. "Please, _please_ stop this sham of a wedding."

Claire sucked in a breath and held back tears, "If that's how you feel… go." She flinched as her friend slammed the door behind her. She collapsed to the chair and clutched at her waist as she sucked in and pushed out air. Her vision began to blur and the world around her started to spin. She did not notice North come to stand beside her.

"She's not worth it." North attempted to calm her. She was uncomfortable, comforting people was not one of her strengths.

"Is she right?" Claire's voice was shaky as she spoke, she looked up to North with her red eyes. "Am I doing the wrong thing?"

"No!" North snapped, causing Claire to jump. "You and he are so sickly sweet together, I get ill just watching you two." Claire watched her with wide eyes as she continued to rant. "Ralph _rarely_ talks about anything else but you, and _you-_ " she pointed at Claire accusingly. "You spend so much of your time worrying about Ralph, that you never think about yourself- the two of you care about each other, _that's no sham._ "

Claire reached out and grasp North's hands, causing the android to jump. "Thank you…" she felt her eyes well up. "You're right, I love Ralph too much to doubt everything." She pulled back and eyed the bridesmaid dress which had been left. "Shame that there's no one to wear it now…" she paused, and tilted her head as though in thought, she then looked up at North, realisation on her face.

North stepped back, her hands held up defensively. "Oh no…"

XXX

"I can't believe that it's finally happening!" Adrian said excitedly from his spot on Hanks couch. He looked into the kitchen where Connor was busy making some dinner- egg rolls. "After two years of petitioning and people demanding it, androids can finally get married." He looked at the television that showed a crowd surrounding a church. "Come on Connor, Hank, you'll miss it!"

Hank pulled two beers out of the fridge and headed to the living room. "You're really excited about this," He passed Adrian a beer and gestured at the detective. "look, you're even dressed all fancy- you're not at the wedding you know." Hank had a point, while he was dressed in track pants and a blue shirt, Adrian was wearing black slacks and a nice button up grey shirt, complete with a black vest.

"I'm dressed nice because I want to." Adrian poked his tongue out at the Lieutenant. "How come you don't give Connor crap?" he pointed to Connor, who was wearing similar clothes to Adrian, only they were black and he had a tie instead of a vest.

Hank shrugged. "Connor always dresses like that. "You however, for a gay man, dress surprisingly like a homeless person."

Adrian popped his beer and rolled his eyes. "Oh, so all gay men dress nice? Way to show your age with the stereotype, old man."

Connor placed the food onto a plate and went about feeding Sumo while he waited for the egg rolls to cool down. Once he had finished, he picked up the plate and walked into the living room with it. He sat down between Adrian and Hank and waited patiently while the two took an egg roll. He waited patiently while they tasted theirs. A smile twitched on his face as Adrian leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"You are absolutely amazing, Connor, Old man's right, you should be a chef." Adrian complimented in his ear before he went back to lavishing attention on his roll.

"I won't kiss you, but I'll agree with the kid." Hank finished his and reached for another one.

Connor opened his mouth to speak, only to have Adrian wave his arms in a 'shh-ing' manner. "It's about to start!" he said excitedly. He pointed at the television and practically bounced on the chair. "Look, look! There's Ralph! And Hank, Simon's next to him- and Markus!"

X

"Kara!" Alice called, her eyes were wide as she stared at the television. "Kara!" Kara, Luther and Rose came charging into the living room in a panic, thinking that something had happened to her.

"What's wrong?" Kara scanned the room, looking for the crisis, she was thoroughly confused when she saw none. "What is it?"

"It's Ralph!" she pointed at the screen. "Remember Ralph? He's getting married, to a human!"

Kara moved to sit beside Alice, she leaned forward and looked at the television. Alice was… right, it _was_ Ralph- he had had repairs and was wearing a tux, but it was Ralph, and he was… "Marrying a human?" she asked.

Alice nodded. "They're broadcasting it to the world!"

X

Claire smiled as North adjusted herself in the dress, it mostly fit, except, Jessica was shorter than North, meaning that the dress was a little short on her, and North had larger breasts than her old friend, meaning that the dress was a little tight, but it did not look bad and the situation certainly could have been worse.

"You look nice."

North sent her a sceptical look and crossed her arms. "You had better be grateful-" she was cut off by Claire hugging her.

"I am."

X

Ralph was nervous. He hated being around people, a general rule that went with his anxiety. He hated being around people and he especially hated being the centre of attention. His LED flashed yellow as he looked around at the crowd. The only people that he knew was Markus, Josh and Simon, everyone else was just paparazzi that wanted to witness the event. He hated being watched the way that they were watching him, like he was a _piece of meat_. They were like vultures. His LED flashed red, he had to get out of here, he had to get out of here, he had to- he jumped at the feeling of a hand on his back. He turned to see Markus offering him a calming smile.

" **She'll be out soon."** The deviant leader sent to his mind.

" **I just want Claire."** Ralph said back.

Suddenly there was a sound as the doors opened. Ralph watched with wide eyes as the paparazzi focused their attention onto the door, to Claire. He watched as North walked out, he was a little surprised to see her- he had thought that _Jessica_ was being the bridesmaid, but apparently North was doing it now. His hands trembled as North came to stand in her spot and Claire moved to stand across from him. He had been so focused on what was happening around him, that he had not been able to take in Claire, but now, now that she was standing before him, he was able to.

If he were able to breathe, his breath would have been knocked out of his lungs at the sight of her. Her pink hair shined with beautiful beads of silver, her dress reminded him of his garden in spring, the pale pinks warming his heart, and her eyes, so beautiful and green, so bright and full of expression, he felt himself being sucked into their ocean blue depths. He wanted to reach out and touch her, to pull her into his arms and hold her- he noticed a slight tremble in her form, he understood, she wanted it too.

X

"She's so beautiful!" Adrian gushed, he reached over and clutched Connor's hand. "I can't believe how wonderful they look together!"

Connor glanced at Adrian. He had not seen Adrian this excited for a very long time, he seemed to be euphoric on the energy of the wedding. He stroked the hand holding his and replied. "It's a beautiful dress." He agreed.

"You're missing the priest." Hank commented taking a sip of his beer.

"If only…" Adrian said dreamily, ignoring Hanks words. He rested his chin in his hand and his elbow on the arm rest of the sofa. "If only…"

Connor eyed Adrian and tilted his head thoughtfully. 'If only' Adrian had said. If only what? He glanced at the television then back at Adrian. Was that what Adrian meant by, 'If only?', did Adrian want a wedding? The way that he was staring at the television seemed to prove the hypothesis. This caused Connor to pause, did Adrian want to marry him?

"They're going to say 'I do'" Adrian leaned forwards to get a better view. "This is so exciting!"

X

"Ralph," Claire reached up and touched his cheek, he leaned into her gloved hand. "I love you, I marry you today, to show the world how much you mean to me… I do." her eyes glistened as they locked with his.

Ralph reached up and touched the hand on his cheek. "Ralph loves Claire, Ralph has always been grateful for having Claire, you saved Ralph. I love you. I do." And with the prompting of the celebrant, the two reached for each other and pulled themselves to each other for a kiss. It was simple, but powerful, as their lips touched, those who watched could _feel_ the rush of emotion the pair held for each other… it was beautiful.

X

Hank pulled himself from the couch and headed to his bedroom, it was late, he was tired, a little drunk… and just a little emotional. He was an old sap, and being an old sap, he could only take so much before he began to sob, very _manly_ tears. He called out a goodnight to Adrian and Connor, who seemed to not hear him, he didn't mind, there was no way that he was getting between _those two_ tonight.

Adrian rubbed at his face as his eyes watered. "They're so beautiful…" he rubbed at his eyes, Connor reached out to touch him, only to end up with Adrian burying his face in his shoulder, the wet tears soaking through his shirt.

Connor, ran his fingers through Adrian's wavy locks, had his hair gotten longer? He decided that it didn't matter and continued to comfort his partner. "What's wrong?" he kissed the human's head.

Adrian pulled back with a gasp and rubbed at his eyes. "I'm okay," he reassured. "J-just a little emotional. I'm so glad that androids can get married now." He pulled himself up from the sofa and walked over to Hank's record player, he pulled out a jazz record and played it. His hips began to sway as the smooth sounds flowed through the room. He turned to Connor and waved his hand for Connor to come to him.

Connor tilted his head and walked over to his human. How many had Adrian had? A quick scan of his memories indicated that he had only had five, not nearly enough to get Adrian drunk. Perhaps it really was just an emotional moment for him? He rose from the sofa and walked to Adrian. Adrian reached out for Connor and wrapped his arms around his shoulders and linked his hands behind Connor's neck. Connor placed his hands on the human's hips in response.

"I love you Connor." Adrian began to sway in time with the music. "I know that I say it a lot, but I just want you to know how much you mean to me." He looked up through dark lashes at the android.

Connor felt something pulse within him, he reached a hand up and cupped Adrian's face before sliding his hand back to thread it through Adrian's hair. His thumb rubbed the spot behind Adrian's ear. "I love you too, I know that I can be difficult… and that it must be hard on you that I don't say it very often, but I feel it. I love you." He leaned forward and kissed Adrian, he tried to convey every thought, every _feeling_ that he felt for him into the kiss. When he pulled back Adrian was panting and clutching at him.

"I want you to do something." Adrian leaned forwards and nipped at Connor's lips.

"Yes?"

Adrian pushed forwards, their crotches touched and his grin widened as Connor let out a gasp. "Shut up and _dance_ with me."

Connor felt himself returning the grin. _He could do that._

A/N: I hope that you enjoyed it! If you want more, I'm happy to fill requests!


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Now, I know that I said that I was finished. I honestly was, until inspiration keep me, literally, awake at 2am the other morning. So, I hope you like the beginning of "Bonus Chapters" enjoy!

P.S: This chapter contains smut, I shall mark it when you reach it.

After It All

"I'm getting a hotdog." Hank turned from the three and headed towards the vendor. It was a pleasant day in Detroit, for once, the sun was out, and it was warm. So, Hank had, in an action that shocked them both, had decided to join Adrian and Connor while they took Sumo out for his walk. At first Connor had felt hope that his encouragement of a healthy lifestyle had made an impression, but it was obvious now that the man had just wanted a hotdog.

"At least he came for the walk?" Adrian offered with a shrug as he took in Connor's expression.

Connor eyed Hank who was chatting away with the vendor. From the ease in which they talked, Hank obviously knew the man. He the turned his attention back to Adrian, who was walking over to a swing set. Adrian sat at the swing and swayed lightly, before building up some speed. The android tilted his head in confusion as he watched his partner swing on a piece of equipment that was intended for children. He wondered why Adrian would feel the desire to do this, he was not a child, what was the appeal?

He was taken from his musings as a body collided with his, causing him to stagger back and Sumo to let out a startled whine as his lead was abruptly pulled. Connor pushed his feet into the grass to support him. He felt the other's hand grasp his wrist and his body jerked as something pulsed in his systems. His eyes blinked rapidly as symbols flashed before them. His LED flashed yellow and his rapid blinking increased as he attempted to look at the figure pushed against him, a task that was quite difficult when red flashing symbols were assaulting his vision.

"Hey!" Hank, while chewing, called out to the android as they sped off. He frowned as Sumo let out a strange whine and nudged Connor with his head. Hank stepped to Connor and touched his shoulder. "Hey, you okay?"

Connor's LED stayed yellow, his eyes went wide and a tremor run through his body. The symbols continued to flash before his eyes. "H-Hank…" Connor gasped, Hank's eyes went wide as he felt a tremor run through the android.

"Connor! What's going on?" he dropped his hotdog in concern, any other day, Sumo would have jumped at the opportunity to eat the fallen food, but the dog seemed just as concerned as Hank was.

Adrian, hearing Hank, jumped from the swing set and ran to them. He took in Connor and reached out and touched the other's cheek, concern etched on his face. "What's wrong Connor?" he asked, panic touching his voice.

At the sound of Adrian's voice, Connor snapped out of whatever spell had taken him, his LED returned to blue and the red symbols vanished from his vision. He let out a strangled sound and blinked at the two humans watching him with wide eyes. "Y-yes…" he managed. "I-I am fine."

"Fuck off you're fine." Hank snapped. "What the fuck happened to you?"

Adrian nodded in agreement and locked eyes with Connor while his hands 'discreetly' felt him for any issues. Connor shook his head and caught Adrian's hand with one hand and leaned down to pat Sumo with the other. "It may have been some kind of error, I'll run a system check and diagnostic when we return home." At their expressions he continued. "If I find anything, I shall alert you and deal with the errors."

Hank eyed him with a frown. "Let's get you home." He put an arm around Connor's shoulder to guide him.

"That's not necessary." Connor protested.

Adrian took the lead from him and eyed him with concerned eyes, he glanced up at Hank and they nodded at each other, Connor frowned at the silent message between the two. "I'll walk Sumo, Hank'll make sure you don't collapse or anything." Adrian walked ahead of them, not too far ahead though. While they walked, he would occasionally glance back to see if Connor was alright.

Connor frowned as he walked. Hank's arm was unmoving, there was no breaking free from the Lieutenant's grip. He was grateful for the care that the two- _three, sorry Sumo_ \- held for him. He was happy to have people in his life that cared for him, they really were wonderful people. As they walked through the streets of Detroit, he felt himself feeling less and less capable, he _really_ needed to get back to the house, so that he could spend a few hours calibrating and scanning his systems. He looked at the houses around them, they were close to Hank's house, that was good. He suddenly stopped, his LED flashed red and the symbols flashed before his vision. Hank, noticing his sudden tenseness, looked him over with worry.

"Connor?" Hank's voice was dulled, difficult to hear, it caused something in his systems to pulse. His LED rapidly flashed between yellow and red, his eyes began to blink. Hank shook him with panic.

"Connor?" Adrian's voice cut through the episode.

Connor's LED settled on red and he stopped blinking, he lifted his head to look at the concerned face of his partner. Something in his systems glitched at the sight of him. Something urged him, _compelled_ him. He pushed forwards, causing Hank to let out a sound of alarm. Connor moved with a speed that neither of the humans believed that he possessed. He clutched Adrian's upper arms and lifted him before slamming him into a tree. He heard Adrian let out a cry of protest and before he could say anymore, a pair of lips were slammed against his.

"Connor! What the fuck!?" Hank yelled.

Connor heard Hanks words, but was unable to respond. He felt Adrian struggle against him and released his arms, before grasping the others legs and lifted him higher on the tree. Adrian pushed against Connor in an attempt to free himself. Connor ignored the protest and pulled his lips away.

"Connor! What are you-" he let out a gasp as the lips moved to his jaw, and his neck, sucking harshly, he let out a moan. "Oh fuck…" Connor adjusted the legs so that their crotches touched, he rolled his hips and Adrian threw his head back with a cry.

"Connor!" Hank attempted to pull him away, but Connor's strength was surprising and he maintained his position. "You couldn't wait until we got home!?" he gestured wildly, his arms flailing. "We're literally four houses away!"

Sumo let out a whine and nudged Connor's leg with his nose.

Hank looked around the street, hopefully no one was out for a walk, the _last_ thing that they needed was one of their neighbours watching them. Luck, it would seem, was not on his side, his eyes locked onto the sight of an elderly woman using her walker to walk around her front yard, watering her flowers as she went. He let out a swear under his breath and offered the stunned old woman an awkward smile.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Peterson, I'll get them inside." He swore again at her glare and he looked back at the pair. "Archer! What are you doing!?" he snapped at the detective who seemed to be _thoroughly_ enjoying his current situation.

"C-Connor- _oh fuck_ \- l-listen please." Connor rolled his hips again and Adrian's hands went from pushing him away, to clutching at him. His fists clenching in Connor's shirt.

Hank watched with keen eyes, as, at Adrian's words, Connor's LED flashed blue momentarily. "Adrian!" he caught the detective's eye. " _get him to the house."_

"And just _how_ do you suggest that I do that?!" Adrian snapped back, before gasping as Connor's hand smacked against his thigh.

"Just _order_ him!"

Adrian blinked at Hank's words, would that really work? He inwardly shrugged and let out a gasp before attempting. " _Connor_ , take me to bed."

Connor stilled, his LED flashed and all was silent as they waited for his response. Hank assessed whether it was worth attempting to move Connor when the android sprung into action. Grasping Adrian's hips tightly, he lifted his partner from the tree and proceeded to _carry_ him down the street, to the house. Hank picked up Sumo's lead and slowly began to follow after the pair. On his way he made a few phone calls.

 **X Yeah smut from now X**

The journey to Connor's bedroom had been hard, both figuratively and literally. Connor had been intent on stopping continuously down the street and through the house, Adrian had been firm and had eventually gotten Connor to take him to the bedroom. His shirt had not survived the quest, however, somewhere in the living room, Connor had ripped the fabric from his body, buttons had been sent flying across the room.

Adrian was now lying on his back on Connor's bed. The android had thrown him onto the mattress and was now making short work of his clothes. The detective was trying to make sense of what was happening while Connor tore his clothes off. What had caused Connor to act this way? While on one hand it was nice, _more than nice_ , dominant Connor was always good. This was different however, Connor seemed completely out of control of himself. His thought process was cut short as Connor removed his underwear, his last feeble defence.

"Connor?" Adrian pushed himself up on his elbows as Connor, still fully dressed, crawled onto the bed and above him. He took in the expression in his eyes, they were wild, predatory, dangerous and filled with raw promise- it made the detective shiver. "Why are you acting like this? What has happened to you?"

The sound of knights of the black death blared through the room, clearly Hank had no desire to listen to what was about to happen. Adrian couldn't blame him really.

Connor's LED flashed briefly and Adrian caught it, a flash in Connor's eyes, something was happening to him, he did not know what though and before he could ask, the android moved forwards. He lips brushed against Adrian's and the human felt his eyes slip shut at the tenderness of the touch. The hairs on his skin raised as Connor's fingers slid down his arms and moved to grasp his hands. The lips pressed Harder and Adrian gave into the sensation, then something happened. Connor, with a speed that Adrian wasn't sure was possible, bound his hands tightly. Adrian's eyes went wide and he pulled back to look down. When had Connor removed his tie? He couldn't remember seeing him do so, but he had, considering the article was now constricting his arms.

"C-Connor?" he scooted back as the smile on the other's face went dark, it sent a shiver down his spine.

Connor silently moved the now bound hands above Adrian's head and forced him to lie on his back. He tied the hands to the headboard and leaned back to examine the body before him. Adrian's pale, lean but muscular body completely exposed. So beautiful, so willing, so _his_. His eyes darkened and he leaned down to press his lips against the other's neck. He smiled at the gasp. He needed more, he bit down, causing Adrian to gasp and lift his hips wantonly.

Connor pulled back and grasped Adrian's thighs tightly. "I am going to _fuck_ you." His voice was firm and full of authority, it caused Adrian to whimper in need. " he released the thighs and pulled open his pants, revealing his own need. He then lifted the thigs again and wrapped them around his waist before smacking the thigh. The smack seeming louder than the death metal in that instant.

"and you," he continued, brushing his desire against Adrian's, causing the other to tremble and twitch. He smacked the thigh again. " _you are going to enjoy it._ " His hips snapped.

Adrian cried out as he was entered- he was briefly able to say a 'thank you' to cyberlife for Connor's 'lubrication' program, otherwise he would have been in a lot more pain. His thoughts were cut off, however as Connor began to move. Adrian cried out as Connor moved, his thrusts were long, sharp and hard. Adrian tried to move his hips, but a smack to his thighs with a belt- when had Connor gotten that out? – caused him to go still.

"I did not say that you could move."

Adrian whined and tugged at the binds, he wanted to touch something, Connor, himself, _something._ Another smack from the belt caused his body to pulse. He whimpered as Connor stopped his movements. "P-please…" he breathed.

"Please what?" Connor's voice was far to _pleasant,_ if that didn't say that something was wrong, nothing would.

"Please…" Adrian opened his eyes and tried to gather his thoughts. Connor was watching him which caused him to tremble. "Please move." Adrian threw his head back and cried out as Connor obliged him, sharp hard thrusts and then stars. "Oh fuck!" Adrian all but screamed as his prostate was hit. " _Yess Connor!_ "

Connor's grip on his thighs was rough, there would be bruises, but he did not care as the android thrust into him. His body, and the bed, moving with the sheer force of the thrusts. His fingers twitched as he wanted to reach out to him. But he was unable, and his action caused another blow to his thigh. He threw his head back and cried out. His vision going white as he exploded, ribbons of white coating his chest. His breath heaved as he tried to focus, his body shaking from his orgasm. Connor did not stop though, he continued to pound, seemingly harder and faster and Adrian was left a whimpering mess until he cried out in a second completion. It was not long after that, that Connor stilled, his body shaking violently, before he collapsed atop of the human.

 **X End smut X**

Adrian could hear the blood pumping in his hears as he sucked in a heaving breath. Shakily he tilted his head to look at the face buried in the crook of his neck Connor's LED was spinning slowly yellow before finally settling on blue. He hoped that that meant that Connor was back to normal, for now. His hands twitched as he wanted to move them, he wanted to run his fingers through Connor's hair, comfort him in some way, his hands were also sore and he really needed to move them.

"Are you okay, Connor?" he asked softly, he tilted his head to nuzzle at Connor gently.

Connor moved, lifted his head from Adrian's shoulder. His eyes locked with the detectives and he pulled himself up onto his elbows. "Yes." He said quietly. He reached over and undid the tie. Adrian's hands, had they a mouth, would have cried out in joy at being freed.

Adrian shook his hands to remove the tingles from them. Once real feeling had returned to them, he reached out and ran his finger's through Connor's hair. The android closed his eyes in response and leaned into the touch. He then tilted his head and pressed his lips against the palm.

"Are you alright?" he asked, opening his eyes and scanning over Adrian's face.

Adrian nodded and watched as Connor moved to lie beside him on the bed. He curled himself into Connor's side and ran his hand down Connor's chest, smoothing out the creases in his shirt. "What caused this?" he asked quietly, his body shivered as Connor gently stroked his shoulder.

"I do not know." Connor replied slowly. "There is a virus… I am, attempting to remove it."

Adrian stilled. "This could happen again?"

It took Connor a long time before he replied. "I am unsure how long it will take to remove the virus. It may well happen again."

Adrian sighed before letting out a breathy laugh. "At least you only seemed interested in me, wouldn't want you chasing after a random bystander- or Hank." He laughed at the mental image of Hank fleeing from Connor.

Connor smiled at him and reached out to stroke his cheek. "It seems, that even infected with this strange virus, that I only want to be with you."

"I love you, Connor."

XXX

"There is a virus being spread around." Connor listened to Markus' words. The android leader and Simon had been called by Hank earlier. "We've had several cases, thankfully, there has only been a few cases, no assaults and the effects only last for a few hours, two days at the most."

Adrian shakily lifted his coffee to his lips. He had already had rough sex five times, he wasn't sure if his body could take another day or two of this. Connor squeezed his hand in comfort which caused him to smile. At least Connor looked after him afterwards and had been nice enough to lend him a shirt, it _could_ have been much worse.

"We are working on finding out where it came from." Simon added, sending Adrian a sympathetic smile. "Josh says that he's getting close."

"Fuck it…" Hank grumbled. "better fix this shit soon, I aint spending my time arresting fucking androids, fucking, in the middle of the street." He glanced over at Simon. "I'm going with you two, until this shit is out of his system." He pointed to Connor's LED that had started to flash red.

Adrian reached into his pocket and pulled out his keys, he held them out to Hank. "Borrow my house, it's only fair since I don't want to take Connor outside." He reached over to hastily finish his coffee as the hand holding his tightened its grip. He was going to need the strength.

"Right," Hank practically jumped from the chair. "Markus, Simon, Sumo!" he gestured with his hand. "I'm going to need beer, lot's of fucking beers, let's go." He walked to the door. "Good luck kid." He nodded to Adrian.

Adrian finished his coffee as the other's left, the second the door closed behind them, Connor pounced.

The virus, much to Adrian pleasure, and horror, stayed for the full two days. Over the two days he was brought to heights of ecstasy that he had never been to before. But he had also been taken to a level of exhaustion that he never thought that he would be at. By the end of it all, he was grateful to the care that Connor took with him. The android going to great lengths to clean, feed and tend to his pains. The android in question currently sitting on the bed with him, massaging his back.

"This feels so good." Adrian snuggled into the mattress and Connor straddled his back to have easier access to his back. His oil slicked fingers working wonders for the aching muscles. "Thank you…"

"I have caused you great discomfort these past two days." Connor said quietly. "This is the least that I could do for you."

"Come lie down with me?" Adrian smiled as the naked body moved to lie beside him. He snuggled into Connor's chest and sighed in contentment as the blanket was pulled over the two of them. "I probably won't be good for sex any time soon." He mumbled, he was tired, and with good reason.

"I respect that." Connor ran his fingers through his lover's short hair. "I apologise, Adrian-"

"Don't be sorry," Adrian interrupted, his voice was tired. "It wasn't you're fault. I'm just glad that it's over, as amazing as it was, I think I would have died if we went for another day." He laughed before yawning.

Connor brushed his thumb on Adrian's cheek. "Get some rest. You deserve it."

Adrian pressed a kiss to Connor's chest and snuggled closer. "I love you…." He mumbled into the other's chest.

Connor placed a kiss on the other's cheek. "I love you too…"

Adrian smiled in his sleep, and it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

A/N: I hope that you liked the chapter, let me know!


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Feeling a bit sappy today, enjoy the chapter.

After It All

Claire could not control the scowl that took her features. The purse of her lips, the crease of her eyebrows, the dangerous look that flashed in her eyes, no, none of these were of her own control. She could not stop them even if she wanted to- she wanted to, but couldn't. The reason for her scowling you ask? The sight before her as they stood in the cereal isle of their supermarket.

Ralph and herself had been walking through the shopping centre, doing their weekly shop. Everything had been great, they had been talking about renovations to their recently purchased home, when, a group of young girls had walked up to Ralph.

" _Excuse me,"_ one of the girls had said. _"Are you Ralph? The android who was the first to marry?"_ they had batted their eyelashes and Ralph, being the nice person that he was, had replied in the positive and that had led to the group surrounding him and barraging him with questions and statements. Claire had ended up being pushed to the side by one of the women in the process, which led to her standing to the side, near the boxes of captain crunch, watching her _husband_ being flirted with.

A high pitched laugh caught her attention and she looked over to see one of the girls- a blonde with long legs, grab Ralph's arm while she tilted her head back in laughter. Claire pushed her pink hair out of her face and sucked in a breath. She gripped the handle of the trolley and pushed it down the isle and away from the scene.

She had been married to Ralph for three years, and every time that something like this happened, she died a little. It hurt, it hurt that people, _that women_ would just walk up and start flirting with him in front of her.

She bit her bottom lip as tears began to form in her eyes. She felt that she was being paranoid, she _knew_ that she was being paranoid, but every time that girls went up to talk to him, she felt that it would be a matter of time before Ralph found someone that he liked. Claire was getting older, she was hitting thirty and she knew that she was starting to look older, it would only be a matter of time, a few years maybe, before she was too old, before he stopped wanting her.

She reached over and put a jar of spaghetti sauce in the trolley. Why would anyone want her when she was older? Especially when they looked as amazing as Ralph. She placed a bag of pasta in the trolley and tried not to jump as Ralph fell into step beside her. She glanced up at him, he seemed happy at least.

"Those girls are happy for us." he said cheerfully, his brown eyes glittering with happiness.

"I'm sure they were." an edge that she did not mean sneaked into her voice. She took some crackers from the shelf and put it in the trolley before walking down another isle.

Ralph watched her retreating back and tilted his head in confusion.

X

"Here, let Ralph help you." Ralph said as he took the the paper bags from Claire and walked to the kitchen. He put the bags on the counter and began to unpack the items and place them into their homes.

Claire followed him into the kitchen and wordlessly took items out of the bag and put them away. Ralph offered her a smile and frowned when she ignored him and continued with her task. What was wrong with her? Had he done something? If he had done something, why did she not tell him? He tried to think of what he could have done, but he was unable to think of anything. He watched as Claire put away the last items from the bags and wordlessly put the bags in the recycle bin and walked off into the living room where she put the television on. Her eyes bore into the screen, Ralph found himself flinching at the fire in them, whatever was wrong, she was furious.

Ralph slowly sat beside her on the sofa. He assessed the various scenarios that could happen; he could ask her what was wrong and she could actually answer. He could ask her what was wrong and she could shout at him. She could also completely ignore him. He reached over and touched her hand, he felt her muscles tense. What was wrong with her?

"What is the matter Claire?" Ralph asked, he rubbed his thumb against the top of her hand.

Claire's lips thinned and curled downwards.

"Please..." Ralph asked quietly. "I want to know what has made you sad." he brushed her hand again and repeated his plea. "Please."

"Why don't you ask those girls." her voice was low, were he human he would not have caught it.

Her words gave him pause. What had caused her to say that? Was she talking about the girls in the shops? What did they have to do with anything? Had one of them said something to her? He could not remember anything happening but maybe they had said something? If so what and why was she angry with him? He lifted her hand to his lips and brushed against them.

"What is wrong Claire? Ralph need to know, I cannot do anything if I don't know why you are upset."

Claire tilted her head to look up into his pleading eyes. She tried to stay mad at him but instead found herself smiling fondly at him- damn him having such innocent and wonderfully beautiful eyes. How dare he make her melt with a single glance, he was just like a puppy. No wonder he was so popular with women. She reached up and touched his cheek, she smiled lightly.

"I'm sorry," she began slowly. "I'm just..." she shrugged helplessly. "I'm feeling insecure and

I'm taking it out on you..." at his questioning expression she let out another sigh and elaborated. "Those girls… when they were talking to you, they… they're so pretty, so flirty with you.. it makes me feel as though it's only a matter of time..." she look away with a shaky breath.

Ralph clutched the hand on his cheek and leaned forwards. " 'a matter of time'? What does Claire mean?" he asked, his voice shook with worry.

"Matter of time before you find someone else…" she felt him tense and her eyes watered. "someone younger, I'm not going to look like this forever..." her throat closed as she tried to breathe. Her eyes stung and she looked down at the coffee table, she couldn't look at him.

"Claire." Ralph's hand moved to her chin and lifted her face to look at him. His eye bore into hers. "Claire." he repeated quietly. "Ralph only wants to be with you. I don't want anyone else." his thumb rubbed against her chin. "I love you Claire."

Claire sniffed and shook her head. "I love you too, but-"

"No buts." he shook his head. "It's not going to change. Ralph married Claire, Ralph isn't leaving." he leaned forwards and placed his lips against her forehead. Claire felt herself smile and lean into the touch. She trembled and closed her eyes as he pulled her close to him.

"I'm sorry.." she said quietly. "I'm just so worried… I overthink everything..." she felt herself snuggling into his warmth.

Ralph ran his fingers through her hair, he smiled as the pink strands flowed through his fingers. Something inside him soared as he felt her sigh into him. Gods he loved her. He tilted her head to look at him, he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. She melted into the embrace, her hands moved to clutch at him. His fingers rested in her hair and she moaned.

"Ralph..." she gasped as she pulled back for air.

Ralph smiled tenderly. "Shall I show you how special you are to me?"

XXX

Adrian hummed to himself as he turned on the tap and filled the sink. He watched as the water mixed with the detergent and the became bubbly. Turning the tap off he went about washing the dishes, he had a dishwasher, but the thing had died and he had been lazy in getting it repaired. He hummed to himself and scrubbed at a pan.

He jumped as lips touched his neck, he smiled and tilted his head back to lean into the touch. Two hands slid around his waist and brush against his stomach. Adrian smiled and pulled his hands out of the water, he dried them with the tea towel.

"How's Hank?" he asked as Connor's chin leaned against his shoulder.

"Hank is well, he has been taking better care of his home. He even wants us to go to work early tomorrow so that we can get started on a case." Connor slid his right hand under Adrian's shirt, causing the other to shiver. He smiled and brushed his lips against the others neck.

Adrian smiled. "I'm glad that he's made so much progress over the past years- if anyone deserves happiness, it's him." Adrian reached for a plate to continue washing the dishes. He nearly dropped the plate as the hand stroking his abdomen slid under his waistband. He put the plate back down and tilted his head back. "I am trying to do the dishes."

Connor's smile widened and he nipped at the offered neck. He slid his left hand to cover Adrian's, his eyes locked onto the matching gold bands, his eyes softened at the sight and the memories it invoked. He lifted the hand to his mouth and kissed the golden ring, his systems twitched as his lips touched the band.

X

 _Adrian cried out as his prostate was hit. His head threw back as the belt wrapped around it was tugged."Yess~"_

 _Connor's lips twitched as tugged on the belt and sped up his thrusts. He had thought it before, but he would always love the sounds that his partner made. Adrian was perfect, so sensitive, so eager, so responsive to him. Gods he loved him. Adrian started to gasp harshly, Connor eased the grip on the belt and instead put all of his focus into his thrusts. Stars flashed before his eyes as he drew closer to the end, he moved harder and faster and as he felt Adrian go rigid, he let out a gasp as he met his own completion._

 _Collapsing beside Adrian, he pulled him to his side and rested his head atop Adrian's brown damp locks. He kissed the other's head and tugged him closer to him. Adrian closed his eyes and sleepily put his arms around Connor's waist. He smiled as Connor pulled the belt away from his neck._

" _I love you." he rasped as he kissed the androids chest._

 _Connor stroked the other's cheek and kissed him in response._

" _You're so wonderful." Adrian murmured._

 _Connor continued to gently touch him. Adrian was tired, he could tell, he also couldn't blame him, they had been 'active' for the last two hours. He smiled warmly as he ran his fingers down the other's arms. He was content with life, the last three years had been wonderful. He and Hank had continued to work together and crack homicide cases. Hank had done so well for himself, he had even started to drink less, that's not to say that he had stopped drinking but instead of being hungover every day, he was only hungover on his days off. Connor had also changed his fortunes, he had moved in with Adrian and the two of them had been renovating the house, building on the garden and things were just great for them._

" _Marry me..."_

 _Connor was thrown from his musings at the words. He felt himself go still. Had he heard that correctly? Adrian hadn't said that, had he? If he had Connor had no idea that Adrian had been thinking about marriage- Connor hadn't._

" _Sorry?" he asked quietly._

 _Adrian must have noticed something for he jumped up and watched Connor with wide eyes. His heartbeat picked up and he licked his suddenly dry lips. He scratched at his arm and seemed to scramble for something to say. Just as Connor was about to open his mouth and say something, Adrian seemed to find words._

" _That is, I… I, you don't have to, I was just… Connor, I..." he let out a shaky breath and jumped as Connor cupped his jaw._

" _Adrian." he said quietly, he leaned forwards and brushed his lips against his. "It would be wonderful to marry you-" he was cut off as his now fiance let out something that sounded like a shriek and tackled him to the bed._

X

"What are you thinking about?" Adrian asked as he twisted in Connor's arms.

Connor leaned forward. "Just how glad I am to have you." he said simply before kissing his love.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it!


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Something that's been floating around in my head for a while, so I thought that I'd put it down.

Family

Adrian felt a smile tug at his lips as he watched Connor run around the house trying to tidy. Hank was coming for lunch and for some reason Connor felt that that meant he had to run around the house ensuring that it was cleaner than it usually was. Seriously, Connor had seen Hank's home! Their small house was a sterile hospital in comparison to the mess that was the Lieutenant's home(At least it was on the weeks that Connor hadn't cleaned Hank's home). He leaned forward on the sofa and picked up his mug, Connor had a habit of taking people's drinks when the cup was empty, even if they had not finished with the cup. For the most part, Adrian and Hank had gotten him out of the habit, but when Connor was in one of these moods… well it was better to just hold onto one's cup.

"Connor, relax love." Adrian soothed while Connor pulled out the vacuum roomba. "It's just Hank, like he's going to care if you haven't vacuumed this week, or not mopped in three days."

Connor made a displeased sound and set the machine to vacuum the floor while he picked up the little hand held vacuum, he then proceeded to clean the sofa. Adrian sat firmly in his spot and grinned as it was obvious that he was annoying his partner. His grin widened as Connor's lips thinned. He leaned back on the sofa and crossed his legs.

"Something wrong Connor?" he teased.

Connor's lip twitched and he raised a brow. "Would you mind moving please?" he tilted his hip and head to the side with his question.

"Why should I?" Adrian leaned back into the couch and lifted his legs and rested them on the arm of the chair. His position making it even more difficult for the Android to clean. He grinned, as Connor's lips tightened. Suddenly, Connor placed the vacuum on the table and leaned over Adrian, his hands resting on either side of the human's head.

"I want you to move." he said calmly.

Adrian stuck his tongue out. "Make me."

Connor let out a breath of laughter before he leaned forward and covered Adrian's lips with his. His human partner responded instantly, his arms winding around Connor's neck. Connor used his legs to support him while he winds his arms around Adrian, before pulling him to stand flush against him. Adrian moaned and ground himself against Connor causing the Android to guide him to the nearest wall and pin him against it. Adrian groaned as Connor placed a hand around his throat and used his other hand to slide under his shirt.

"Shit Connor, _yes!_ " Adrian gasped as a hand slid into his pants. He went to grasp Connor's hair, only to freeze as the hand was removed and Connor moved away. Adrian snapped his eyes open and gaped as his partner sashayed back to the table to retrieve the vacuum, then he proceeded to clean the sofa. "Sly son of a bitch..." he breathed appreciatively.

Connor looked back at him and winked before returning to his task.

Adrian let out a breathy laugh. "You owe me for this." he gestured to the bulge in his jeans. When he heard Connor chuckle he crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. "Alright, alright, I'll help you, what do you need?"

X

"Your house is as clean as it usually is." Hank said with a smile as he ushered Sumo into the house. The dog was getting older and Hank didn't like leaving him at home for extended periods, also Connor enjoyed having Sumo around so there was no reason to not bring him. "Here you go Sumo." he took the lead off the dog and Sumo instantly padded over to the sofa and climbed onto the cushions.

"Hey Sumo." Connor walked over to the dog and rubbed his head.

Sumo licked his hand before snuggling into the sofa.

Adrian wanted to comment on why would Connor bother to clean the sofa if it was going to end up covered in dog hair anyway, but he decided against it. Instead he turned his attention to Hank. "How are you Lieutenant? How's your time off?" Due to a build up of holidays, Hank had been told to take some much needed vacation time.

Hank walked into their kitchen and pulled a beer from the fridge, he then sat at the dining table and popped the beer open. "It's been good, I dragged Simon and Markus to the game the other night."

Adrian opened a beer of his own. "I saw the game the day after, it looked like a good game!"

Connor walked to the oven and inspected the brisket, it looked as though it was doing well. It was his first attempt at making it so he hoped it went well. He closed the oven and turned his attention to the two men at the table who had their heads tilted back as they smelled the air. "How does it smell?" he asked quietly.

"Fuck that smells good." Hank exclaimed and Adrian nodded in agreement.

"Connor is the most amazing cook." Adrian exclaimed with a sip of his beer. Sumo made a sound. "See, even Sumo agrees!" he looked over at Connor and grinned. "You are amazing my love!"

"You two will give me diabetes." Hank grumbled before Connor could respond to the praise.

Adrian went to say something, only to pause as his phone rang. He jumped and scrambled to pull the object out of his pocket. Once it was in his hands he looked at the dial info and frowned. "It's my mum..." his lips thinned and he pulled himself up from the chair. "Gimme a few..." he walked into the living room and answered the phone with a, "Hello mother."

Hank leaned towards Connor. "How's that going?" he gestured to Adrian who was holding the phone to his ear and nodding.

Connor watched Adrian while he paced the living room. "His relationship with them is… strained…" he glanced at Hank briefly before looking back at Adrian. "He barely talks to them, safe for holidays. His mother refuses to acknowledge our relationship, Adrian is constantly arguing with her about it."

The two jumped at the sound of something dropping. They looked to Adrian who had dropped his phone. Connor's eyes widened as he took in his lovers face, Adrian had gone white, his eyes were watering and his body seemed to be trembling. He pushing himself from the bench and headed towards Adrian as he fell to his knees on the floor.

"Fuck you okay Adrian?" Hank pulled himself from the chair and rushed to him.

Connor knelt beside Adrian and took his hands. Adrian's hands were cold and shaking, Connor could tell without using his programs that his stress had risen. He clutched at his loves shaking hands and leaned close to him. "What has happened?"

"My father is dying..." Adrian said quietly. "Cancer."

Connor pulled him into his arms. He rubbed soothing circles on Adrian's back and shoulders, he felt him shaking and his shirt was getting wet, but he did not mind, he would do anything to help Adrian. He felt Adrian's arms wrap tightly around him and his face rubbed into Connor's shoulder. "I hate him..." Adrian said quietly. "I hate him… but he's… he's still my father..." he pulled back from Connor's shoulder, his red eyes wet and messy.

"How long?" Hank asked gently.

Adrian pulled back from Connor and leaned his back against the sofa. He tilted his head back and let out a shaky breath. "He's only just found out, they haven't even started Chemo yet, mum just wanted me to know… 'come see him one last time before he's gone', she said." he rested his arms on his knees and let out another shaky breath.

Connor moved to sit next to him, he reached over to clutch the other's hand. He squeezed Adrian's hand and was comforted when Adrian squeezed back. He searched for something to say to him, he was completely unprepared for how to respond to what was happening, he tightened his grip on Adrian's hand before he pulled Adrian into his arm, he felt his eyes water as tears soaked his shirt.

"Shit kid…" Hank leaned forwards on his chair, he clutched his hands and rested his arms on his knees. "When was the last time you saw him?" he asked gently.

Adrian let out a shaky breath and rested his cheek on Connor's shoulder. His red eyes looked up at the Lieutenant. "I was sixteen, he… he was kicking me out for being gay..."

"Fucking-" Hank cut himself off, but Connor could tell where his thought process was going. "Do you want to go, kid?" he added after a few moments of silence.

Connor felt himself flinching, he wanted to glare at Hank, he really did. This was not something that Adrian needed to be thinking about at the current moment, but he also understood why Hank would talk about it. Logically it would be something to think about, Connor just wanted to give Adrian some time to sort through his feelings.

"I will." Adrian said surprising the two of them. He pulled himself from Connor's arms and shakily moved to stand. He held a hand out to Connor who took it and was helped to stand. Adrian then walked over to the coffee maker and set it to run. He pulled out a mug and waited for the machine, when it was done he poured himself some coffee and held the mug to his lips. He inhaled the smell and sighed before taking a sip of the hot liquid. He looked over to the two watching him. "I feel that I should..." he looked over at Connor. "I'd like you to be there… but I don't know if it would be a good idea..."

Connor tilted his head. "I want to be there for you, is it because of your family? Why I would not be able to be there for you?"

Connor watched with keen eyes as Hank shook his head, tightened his lips and clenched his fists.

Adrian nodded, then let out a bitter chuckle. "It's the middle of Texas, Connor, being Gay is hard enough, being gay with an Android Husband?" he shook his head. "I just don't want you to get hurt." Adrian shakily lifted the mug to his lips again. He shook his head. "Fuck I love you Connor..." he mumbled into his mug.

Connor felt something in his chest tighten. He stepped towards Adrian and wound an arm around his waist. "I will go with you." when it looked like Adrian was going to protest, he shook his head. "I want to be there for you, I am not going to let you face it alone."

"Connor..." Adrian's eyes watered again.

"Fuck if Connor doesn't go, I'll go with you." Hank pulled himself from the chair and turned to the two.

A weak smile. "Hank…"

X

Adrian let out a shaky breath as the taxi pulled up to his family home. He looked out the window to the brick house. Memories flashed before his eyes, some good, but most bad. He jumped at the feeling of a hand touching his shoulder and turned to Connor who was watching him with concerned eyes. He smiled weakly and touched the hand on his shoulder.

"I'll be okay..."

Connor nodded and pulled his hand away.

"Need me to knock?" Adrian looked over at Hank who was watching him sympathetically.

Simon and Markus had been kind enough to look after Sumo for a few days.

He shook his head. "No… I'll do it, thank you for coming you two..." he looked at his companions.

Hank waved a hand dismissively. "It's nothing, kid. Anytime." he moved to pull himself out of the cab.

"I am here for you Adrian." Connor's voice was soft, but filled with emotion.

Adrian turned to Connor and clutched at the hand on his shoulder. He let out another breath before suddenly grasping Connor's face and kissing him hard. Before Connor could respond he pulled back with a weak smile. "I love you." he said firmly before nodding and climbing out of the cab.

Connor followed after him. He walked behind Hank and Adrian up the stone path towards the front door. He watched as Adrian raised a shaky hand to the door, he wanted to press against him, to give him some support, but he knew Adrian, he knew that Adrian needed to do this himself. He watched as Adrian knocked against the door.

"It'll be fine Kid." Hank said quietly.

The three of them froze at the sound of the door opening. A young woman, in a pink sundress with long curly brown hair and who looked strikingly like Adrian, opened the door and looked at them with green eyes. She scanned the three of them before her eyes widened at the sight of Adrian. She then frowned.

"Adrian." she said blithely.

Adrian smiled weakly. "Heather." he raised a hand in a wave. "I heard about the old man… we're, I'm, we're..." he tugged at the sleeve of his jacket. " _I'm_ here too see him, _they're_ here to support me. Heather, this is Hank and… Connor…"

The woman, Heather, eyed Hank but she seemed uninterested in him before she turned her attention to Connor. Her lips thinned before she shrugged and gestured for them to enter the house. Adrian looked back at them with a weak smile and gestured for them to follow him. He took the lead and walked through the threshold Hank went next, followed by Connor. As he passed Heather he heard the woman let out a tsk, he chose to ignore it in favour of following after the other two.

The house, or at least the main living room where they were ushered to, was quaint. It had old floral sofa's with doily's, it looked as though it were straight from the seventies right down to the ugly rug on the floor and family photo's littering the walls. Connor stepped towards the fireplace where on the mantle sat more family photo's, there weren't many, but he could find at least a dozen of Adrian in varying stages of his life.

"Careful you might melt." he heard Heather say.

"Fucking hey!" Hank raised in his defence.

Connor ignored the comment and continued to look over the photo's- it appeared that in his youth, Adrian had had a healthy set of curls, how had he managed to tame it down to a mild wave? "H-Heather," he heard Adrian say. "Don't talk to him like that." his lip twitched into a small smile, Adrian had always stood up to him, it was good to see that his nervousness around his family hadn't stopped that. He heard Heather snort and leave the room.

"I'll go get _mom_ and _dad._ " there was a tone to her voice that Connor did not like.

A hand touched Connor's back. "I'm sorry about her." Adrian whispered to him.

"She's a piece of work." Hank said while looking around the room. "The rest of your family that nice?"

Adrian let out a dry laugh. "It gets better from here."

"Fucking wonderful- hey that kid with the big head of curls, that you?"

Adrian moved away from Connor and stepped towards Hank who was looking at a large family portrait. In the portrait were two people, a man and woman in their twenties with three curly haired children sat in front of them, two boys and a girl. One of the boys was grinning the brightest grin while the other was frowning.

"Yeah," Adrian replied, moving to stand beside the Lieutenant. "The smiling one's my twin brother Michael, he was always happier than me, the favourite too- played football, basketball, girls- you know, the perfect child."

Connor turned to him with sad eyes.

Hank snorted. "Wonderful."

"Hey Adrian!" a voice exclaimed. Three sets of eyes looked to see a man who looked almost identical to Adrian. There were some differences though, clothes being the main, but also the shaved head and more muscular. He grinned widely and walked over to Adrian. "How's it going," he patted his brother on the back. "how are you? Which one are you fucking? The old one or the robot?"

Hank blanched.

Adrian's lips tightened. "I'm _married_ to Connor, Michael." he pulled away from Michael and walked over to Connor. He gripped the Androids hand and said. "Connor, meet Michael, Michael, meet Connor."

Connor held his free hand out to shake. Michael looked Connor up and down with a raised brow. "You certainly look like the type that he'd be fucking my kid brother." he ignored the offered hand.

"Two minutes..." Adrian mumbled. He watched sadly as Connor pulled his hand back. He wished that Connor had stayed at home, that this was the worst that he would have to deal with… but he knew his family, he knew it only got better from here. He looked over at Hank who looked ready to start throwing punches at people- he kind of wished that he would.

"So here is my son, come to see me in my hour of need." Adrian flinched and looked over. An older man and woman had walked into the room, followed by Heather who had her arms crossed and looked entirely too pleased with the situation.

"Mum, Dad..." Adrian's hand, were it holding a human hand, would have hurt them. But Connor was able to withstand the pain, barely noticing it and squeezing back for comfort.

The couple looked to be the same age as Hank. Adrian's father was tall and built, as though he once played sports but years of a bad diet had caused him to grow a large stomach. Adrian's mother seemed to be where the curly hair had come from, but the dark colour must have been the father's as her hair was thick and bright red. She was shorter than him with a portly build which suited her clothing choice of jeans and a white blouse. The man of the couple scanned the room, taking in Hank before returning to Adrian and Connor. His dark eyes narrowed.

"Who the fuck are you?" he nodded his head to Connor. Connor noted that the man's accent was strange, an odd combination of American and Australian- Adrian hadn't spoken much about his childhood, but he knew that he had been had been in America far longer than he had lived in Australia, so it was strange that the accent was still there, however faint.

"Real polite, your family is Adrian." Hank grumbled.

"I know Hank, I'm sorry." Adrian replied before addressing his father again. "This is Connor, mum would have told you about him, my Husband."

The older man let out a bitter laugh. "Yeah she told me about the piece of plastic. The abomination to god. Why the fuck would you bring him here? Why the fuck are you here?"

Adrian's mother scowled at the two. "An affront to god! It should be destroyed." she echoed her husbands words.

Hank crossed his arms and stared at the two as though he could not quite believe what was coming out of their mouths.

"Don't talk about Connor like that!" Adrian rose in defence of the Android, receiving an appreciative stared from Hank and a sideways glance from Connor. "Connor has done more for me in the entire time that we've known each other, than you've ever done for me!"

"Then why are you here!?" his father demanded again.

"I'm here because-" he ran a hand through his hair. "Shit I'm here because I heard what was happening to you. Because I still… because I wanted..." he shook his head, unable to say anything else.

"Adrian." Connor turned to his partners parents. "Adrian is a caring person, he has been distraught since finding out about your condition. He cares about you, all of you, even after everything that you have done to him." his senses picked up that Adrian was trembling, he frowned. "He came to see you, because of how strongly he feels."

"Well I don't want him here," came the harsh response. "If he cared about any of us he would he have made an effort to talk to his mother, whenever she called- he would have turned up to his sister's wedding. The boy in an ingrate who has no business here."

"Hey asshole!" Hank spoke up, walking over to the other two. "This kid, is your son. He came here for you, and you don't even want to talk to him? What the fuck, prick? Give the kid a chance." he looked down, and his eyes glazed over. "You should spend time with your son, while you're still able."

"Hank..." Adrian said softly.

Adrian's father's went went red and his fists clenched. He moved to say something else, only to stop as coughs erupted from his chest. His wife was instantly at his side, holding onto him and supporting him while he bent forwards as coughs erupted from him. "It's alright dear." she soothed, rubbing his back. She shot them with a dark look. "I had hoped that you coming here would bring something… anything…" she shook her head. "...but I was wrong, you need to leave. Now."

Hank and Connor looked at Adrian for a cue as to what to do. He closed his eyes and nodded. "Yeah..." he said evenly. "Yeah we'll go..." he gestured for them to leave. As Hank and Connor left through the door, he turned back to his family. "I wish you a speedy recovery, I hope you all the happiness..."

The wait for the taxi was a silent one. The three of them sat at the curb, Adrian was grateful for the silence, he would rather wait for them to at lease to get into the taxi before he started to answer any questions. He looked down the road, he couldn't see the cab yet, but it shouldn't be long.

"Fucking pricks." Hank broke the silence but said nothing else.

The sound of a car alerted them to their taxi's arrival. The three of them rose to stand. When the taxi pulled over and while Hank and Connor were climbing into the vehicle, Adrian took one look back at the house, his eyes widened as the door opened and his brother came running up to him.

"Adrian!" Connor stopped and turned back to watch Michael pull his brother into a hug. "I'll miss you baby bro..."

"Two minutes..." Adrian shakily replied, his arms moving to wrap around his brother.

"Don't worry about the old man. He's tough as nails, you look after you, you hear?" he pulled away and ruffled Adrian's hair. "Keep in touch, yeah? I might even come down and see you sometime." he looked over at Connor. "You look after him, okay?" when Connor nodded he looked back at Adrian. "Bye Ads." with that said he ran back to the house.

"Goodbye..." Adrian turned back to Hank and Connor. "Let's go home."

X

"Sumo!" Hank called out to his dog with wide arms as Simon and Markus opened the front door. The sound of feet pounding could be heard before a giant blob of slobber and fluff tackled the Lieutenant.

"It's good to see you all back." Simon said as he welcomed the three of them into the home.

Adrian gave them a smile before silently walking into the dining room to make himself some coffee. While the coffee machine worked on his beverage, he watched as the other four chatted away in the living room. Hank was asking about Sumo and Markus and Simon were telling them stories of things that the dog and they had done. Connor was now patting the dog while Hank brushed the hair off his clothes. He felt a smile tug at his lips. These people, this combination of, Androids, human and dog, they were his family. They brought him more happiness than he could ever express. He couldn't imagine his life without these people, he frowned. His life would not be happy without them.

He watched Connor as the dog licked and tackled him to the floor. He let out a chuckle, light at first but quickly turned into a loud rambunctious pearl of laughter. He clutched his sides as he doubled over with laughter. He could feel the eyes on him but he couldn't stop. He fell to his knees, tears flowing from his eyes while he continued to laugh.

"Adrian?" Connor knelt down beside him. "Are you alright?" he hesitantly touched the human's shoulder.

Adrian looked up, his shoulders shaking while his laughter died down. "Yeah..." he nodded. "Yeah… I'm okay…" he looked up at his love with wet eyes. "I love you." _all of you._

"Come on Sumo, Markus, let's get Simon out of here before they scar his fragile mind." Hank ushered the four of them outside.

Connor smiled. "I love you too Adrian." he reached over and grasped the other's hand. "We're here for you. Always." he leaned forward and brushed his lips against Adrian's. When Adrian moaned he deepened the kiss.

Adrian pulled himself closer to Connor, relishing in the closeness.

 _Thank you, for everything Connor._


End file.
